Take Me To Infinity
by Sever-Black
Summary: How Shepard and Thane came to love each other. From when Shepard meets Thane to the end. A lot of detail to the characters. Not very good with summary sorry about that.
1. The Assassin

**The title is from one of my favorite songs, Take Me To Infinity by Breathe Carolina. The summary is from one of the last lines, 'trust what you feel because your eyes will deceive'. When I think of what Shepard and Thane must have gone through with their feelings for each other that's what I think they had to do. They had to just go with their feelings and what they felt was in their hearts. They would also have to look past what they saw - an alien, because when you see what you're not used to you're eyes lie to you when your heart is what really tells the truth. I just wanted to give a little insight on the title. **

**Bioware owns characters and everything you recognize from the game, rest is mine.**__

_Bang_

The last shot rang out, entering and exiting the Eclipse Commando's head, right between her eyes. Shepard put away her sniper and hit the button that would activate her medi gel supply. She had taken too many hits to her left shoulder today and would be paying for it later.

_This assassin better be good_ she thought to herself with irritation._ I just might shoot him if he wasn't worth all this trouble. The only good thing about this trip so far was being able to help those Salarians_. _I wonder why an assassin would take the time to keep civilians safe_, she thought for the second time during the mission? They had encountered many Salarians on their way through the building, all telling the same story of rescue by a mysterious assassin. Maria shook her head of the thoughts, figuring she would have her questions answered in just a few moments. She moved past the fallen body and touched the holo pad on the door, leading her group through, Garrus and Grunt made sure to follow close behind.

Shepard and her two companions climbed the few steps leading to Nassana and her small group of bodyguards, who stood before the large window over looking the view of the city and the setting sun. Nassana turned towards the intruders and immediately recognized the women standing in front of her.

"Shepard…but you're dead!" Nassana said, as if her words alone would send Shepard back to her grave.

"I got better," Shepard teased, a mocking smile pulling at her lips. Nassana was scared.

"And now you're here to kill me." Nassana's guards raised their weapons , causing Grunt and Garrus to do the same.

"Maybe I just missed you." Shepard continued to mock, looking around the room as she spoke. There was no assassin as far as she could see. _Where is this drell?_ She asked herself as she scanned the room once more.

"Go to hell." Nassana snapped, turning away from them in irritation.

"Charming as ever," Shepard smirk, returning her gaze back on the clearly flustered woman.

"I bet you find this all very ironic. First you take care of my sister and now you're here for me. Well you made it this far, now what?" Nassana asked turning back to them.

"I'm no assassin Nassana. But I am looking for one." Shepard confessed.

"Do you expect me to believe you did all this." Nassana opened her arms in a wide gesture, "Destroying my tower, decimating my security! All to find an assassin!" Nassana asked, scowling at Shepard, furious at the game the human was playing with her.

"I don't really care what you believe Nassana." Shepard drawled, crossing her arm over her chest definitely.

"Is it credits, is that what you want?" Nassana was losing her resolve; she was desperate to make this all go away.

At that moment Shepard heard something in the vents above. She assumed this was their assassin.

"All the credits in the world won't make this problem go away, Nassana," Shepard taunted, her lips lifting in a smirk.

"Who the hell gave you the right to play god?" Nassana asked her with indignation.

_Oh this women was a piece of work, _Shepard thought snidely

"I may not be perfect, but look at you. We both kill people for money. What's the difference?" Nassana turned away once more, her head hung low with loss of hope.

"You kill people because you think they are beneath you: they're in your way. I kill people when they give me no choice." Shepard bit out coldly.

Hope seemed to return to Nassana in that moment as she turned to the group." You have a choice. You don't have to do this. I can tell you…"

The noise in the vents got louder, but Nassana didn't seem to notice, but her mercs did. The Asari next to her interrupted her rant, telling her she heard something.

As Nassana gave orders to the mercs to check the entrances, she turned to Shepard and her group telling them to stay put. Her next sentence was cut off however. At that moment, the assassin decided to make his move.

He dropped down from the vents, systematically and gracefully dispatched the mercs. The first was brought to an end with a quick neck snap, the next suffered a punch to the throat, crushing it most likely. As he fell to the floor the Drell pulled his gun from his hip and shot the last Asari merc through the heart. She dropped to the floor as well, her gun however, was quickly snatched from the air by the assassin, who swiftly spun to point the barrel into the side of Nassana's stomach. The woman had barely registered what had taken place before meeting the eyes of the cold assassin. At the same moment Nassana attempted to aim her gun, the drell fired and it was over. He took Nassana gently into his arms and laid her onto the desk in front of them. Her hands were folded together on top of her chest, giving her a peaceful look. The assassin did not spare even a moments glance to his audience, he only proceeded to bow his head over his cupped hands and stand in silence before the group and his victim.

_What the fuck was that,_ Shepard thought to herself.

"So this is our guy? Good." Grunt commented with satisfaction.

Shepard didn't quite know what to make of what she had just seen or the assassin's actions after. She couldn't do anything but stare at the man in front of her, taking in what he had done but also him. She had never seen a drell before, she had been meaning to look them up on the externet when she had received Mr. Krios' dossier, but she never got around to it. All she could think now was, if there was a race out there that were the male equivalent of asari, this was it. Every man, no matter what race seemed to love asari, they were the male galactic fantasy race. In Shepard's opinion, drell must be the same for women. Mr. Krios' tall form looked like it was perfectly sculpted from stone and his beautiful scales were painted on, along with his cloths, which left little to the imagination. His body was covered in a deep green tone, red ribbing played down his neck and deep black markings decorated his face and peeked out from the cut out of his jacket near his shoulders. He had large, full lips, which had an interesting cut down the center, ending at the base of his chin. However, it was his eyes that really fascinated the Commander. They were larger then any humans and appeared to be completely black. As she had watch him take down his marks, the sunset had reflected off his eyes, causing them to shine as he preformed his deadly dance. This man radiated danger, skill and poise. Shepard was confident that he would strengthen the squad, but there was a mystery surrounding him that would be tough to brake through she was sure.

_This might have been worth it after all_, Shepard thought to herself.

Looks aside, Thane Krios was a dangerous and skilled man. He had shown them that much and he would be a valuable asset to the team, his looks, where just an added bonus.

_Oh, right. That's what I'm supposed to be doing._ Shepard mentally prepared herself for what her interruption might bring before taking a few steps forward and addressing the assassin.

"I was hoping I could speak to you?" She felt bad for disturbing him, but they really did need to get moving.

"I apologize, prayers for the wicked must not be forsaken," He spoke in a deep alien like voice.

_That's interesting,_ Shepard thought to herself. _A religious assassin? I guess it is no stranger than myself.  
_

"Not many would pray on her behalf." Shepard commented. Maria continued to preform the symbol of the cross before Nassana's body regardless of what she had said. Shepard was not one of those people.

This seemed to catch his attention and possibly his curiosity, she wasn't sure by his subtle and alien facial expressions.

He shook his head, "Not for her, for me. The measure of an individual can be difficult to discern by actions alone. Take you for instants, all this destruction . . . chaos." As he spoke, he moved around the table, his hands moving animatedly. "I was curious to see how far you would go to find me. Well . . . here I am." He stood in front of Shepard expectantly.

"How did you know I was coming at all?" Shepard asked curiously.

"I didn't, not until you marched through the front door and started shooting." He answered, moving past her to stand in front of Garrus' sniper, which was pointed at his chest. Maria wasn't sure if this was done to prove a point, that he did not consider any of them a threat or he just did not value his own life enough to remain cautious. He stood calmly before them as he spoke, military style with his hands clasped behind his back. "Nassana had become paranoid. You saw the strength of her guard force." He looked over his shoulder to Shepard. "She believed one of her sisters would kill her." He paused as turned completely towards the Commander once again, it seemed he had a trouble remaining still for too long Maria noticed. "You were a valuable distraction."

Shepard could swear she saw the corner of his lips curve.

Maria took a moment to study him, before continuing with the reason why she was here, "I need you for a mission." Shepard needed to wrap this up, no point in holding it off any longer. She nodded to Garrus to lower his gun.

"Indeed?" He stated calmly.

"You familiar with the Collectors?" Shepard asked.

Thane took a few steps away from the group, his back to Shepard now, facing the large window overlooking the city, "By reputation" he told her.

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest, facing the assassin she spoke, "They're abducting entire human colonies. Freedoms Progress; was their handy work."

Thane bowed his head, taking in what he had just heard.

_Interesting_, he thought, "I see."

"We're going after them," Shepard told him, wondering what his reaction would be.

Thane turned around suddenly giving Shepard his full attention, "Attacking the Collectors would require passing through the Omega 4 Relay. No ship has returned from doing so."

_She had to already know this,_ Thane thought to himself. She was either insane or fearless.

"My ship will be the first" Shepard said with confidence.

She said it in a way that made him want to believe her, like nothing could stop this woman; maybe his previous thoughts on whether she was crazy or fearless were correct. She seemed to be a bit of both.

"You would like me to protect humans I've never met, from aliens no one knows anything about, by going to a place no one has ever returned?" He asked. He already knew he would do it, a suicide mission did not frighten him, he was ready to die, but he wanted to see if this would cause her to falter.

"That's the gist of it," she said nonchalantly. She stepped forward moving next to him at the window.

Thane bowed his head, this human was interesting. Then again, could he really expect normality from a person who had made a career performing the impossible?

Thane looked up at the sunset through the window, "This was to be my last job." Thane looked over at her meeting her eyes, "I'm dying". He looked back to the sunset, he was curious what her reaction would be. He had felt that if he was going to work for her on this kind of mission, she should know about his condition. "Low survival odds don't concern me. The abduction of your colonist dose" he told her.

He was dying. No one had told her that. "I hadn't heard that, is there anything I can do?" She asked.

A desire to help him was not what he expected. "Giving me this opportunity is enough." _So many mistakes_, he thought to himself, "This universe is a dark place. I'm trying to make it brighter before I die." He told her, in a tone filled with regret. This would definitely make it a little brighter, but he knew there was nothing he could do to completely make the universe right, to make up for the mistakes in his life. Thane turned towards Shepard, "Many innocents died today, I wasn't fast enough and they suffered. I must atone for that."

This guy was something else, not what she expected at all.

"I will work for you Shepard. No charge" he said, shaking her hand to seal the deal.

* * *

Thane walked through the doors of the communications room, in front of him was a long table with a hologram of the ship in the middle. On the right was Shepard and across from her stood a dark skinned human in a form fitting black Cerberus suit. Thane stood at the end of the table with his hands behind his back waiting to be addressed.

"I've heard impressive stories Krios. Sounds like you will be an asset to the team. That is if you're comfortable with an assassin watching your back," The dark skin Cerberus operative spoke coldly to him, crossing his arms over his chest. He had looked to Shepard when he had said 'if you're comfortable with an assassin watch your back'. They must have been talking about this before he walked in, or arguing from the look and tone of his voice. Either way he was making it clear that he did not approve of his presence on the ship. This man didn't trust him. He didn't blame him, he was after all an assassin and most species did not share the same ideas about his profession as drell and hanar.

"I have accepted a contract, my arm is Shepard's." Thane told him calmly.

"Uh-huh. Don't know about you, but I'm loyal to more than my next pay check." The man scoffed at his reply.

_This human is becoming tiresome, _Thane thought.

"Obviously he is too. He's doing this mission gratis. What's your concern?" Shepard stepped in, putting the other human on the spot.

"I don't like mercenaries. An assassin is just a precise mercenary." The man answered.

_But recruiting Zaeed, an actual mercenary, and Jake, who is a dangerous, unstable all powerful biotic murderer, are ok to have on the team but Thane is the one you are worried about. What the hell is this about?_ Shepard didn't get where the suspicion and hostile attitude was coming from.

"An assassin is just a weapon. A weapon doesn't choose to kill. The one who wields it does." Thane spoke, this human was getting annoying and all he wanted was to go to his room and meditate on the day's events and rest, his chest was bothering him. "Where should I put my things? I would prefer someplace dry, if anything is available." he asked Shepard.

A hologram of a cipher on top of a cylinder replaced the hologram of the ship in the middle of the table and spoke in a synthetic but famine sounding voice, "The area near the life support plant on the crew deck tends to be slightly more arid then the rest of the ship."

"Ah. An AI? My thanks." Thane told it, bowing at the waist with his arms at his side, both in thanks and to signal his departure to Shepard. He noticed Shepard bow her head slightly toward him before he left the room. Thane went through the armory door on his left and out to the CIC, as he headed to the elevator, a human women with red hair and a big smile on her face stopped him.

"Hello Mr. Krios, I'm Kelly Chambers. I am Commander Shepard's Yeoman and I am also the ships counselor. I just wanted to welcome you on board and ask if you need anything." Kelly spoke in a cheery voice.

"Hello, Ms. Chambers. Thank you, I do not require anything." Thane told her, giving her a small bow with his head and proceeding to the elevator.

_Wow, he isfascinating_. _Kind of dark and scary but very polite, some people might mistake him for rude if they didn't know any better_, but she could tell he was just the type of man who was used to solitude and doing things on his own. One thing Kelly couldn't help but notice was how handsome he was. _Wonder if he has a thing for humans_, she thought to herself before turning back to her work.

Thane arrived on the crew deck and exited the elevator, thankfully no one here tried to talk to him, many stared though. Most had probably never seen a drell. Thane walked forward into the hall and looked to his right, there was a sign that read 'Life Support'. He walked over to the door, activating the holo pad. As he walked through, the first thing he noticed was how easy it was to breath. There was a casing to the right when he walked into the room completely,a military cot, table and two chairs to his left. He set his things down on the table and proceeded to take his belongings out, mostly guns, which he placed in the glass case, a pack of special tea from Kahje, some cloths, and a small holo picture of a female drell holding a child.

The women had beautiful blue and silver scales, a large smile on her face and sunset colored eyes, the baby had blue scales as well that faded into teal at some places with dark eyes like his own. He put the holo picture back in his bag which he stored in the corner, trying hard not to slip into memories. Thane sat down in the chair facing the window that showed off the ships drive core and began to meditate.

* * *

Back in the communications room, Shepard continued to talk to Jacob after Thane had left.

"He seems quite civil." EDI had commented before logging off.

Shepard turned to Jacob, not very happy with the way he had treated their new team mate, "We need all the help we can get. He isn't what I expected in an assassin. He may surprise you."

"Yeah, and he might not" Jacob said with disbelief before walking off to the armory.

_What the hell was that_, Shepard thought. Just what she needed, two of here team mates fighting. Well not two really, Thane was civil the whole time, she was shocked at how well he hide his emotions, it would be really hard to read this guy and he was probably not used to people getting close to him. Well at least he was polite and not a blood thirst killer like half the crew. He was aware of the dangers of civilians getting hurt and went as far as to protect them, that alone was a rare characteristic even for military soldier. She had met many men and women in her military career who had the attitude of get the job done at all cost. She never liked that, she wanted to help people, she always got her missions done and did them pretty damn well without killing innocent people, though when it came to her enemies she could be ruthless, the merc she had pushed through the window had learned that the hard way, right before he hit the floor. Of course, you couldn't always save everyone, Shepard knew that better than anyone, and Thane seemed to take that to heart. 'Many innocents died today, I wasn't fast enough and they suffered. I must atone for that' he had told her. Yes, Mr. Thane Krios was very different, and like she told Jacob not what she expected in an assassin. She liked him already, he would be a great addition to they're team, she knew it.


	2. Memories

**This chapter is to just let you know kind of my Shepard's background and what she looks like, I'll get a real chapter out soon. **

Shepard was in the elevator, heading down to the crew deck to get Doctor Chakwas to look at her injuries. She hadn't even noticed the pain in her side until she had taken off her armor and changed into her black commander's uniform. She had promised Garrus that she would see Chakwas after getting on the ship but she had to meet with Thane, and then there had been Jacob. Now she was heading down because she really didn't feel like being dragged down there, kicking and screaming, by the big Turian.

She had visited with Joker before going to the elevator. Once again the pilot had a sarcastic remark to make about her knew choice in crew member, 'Oh, another dangerous alien on board Commander, thanks. Why can't you collect coins or commemorative plates, or something?'. Joker was a smart ass, but Maria couldn't imagine doing this mission without him, or having another pilot in control of her ship. What had been really interesting was when EDI had decided to mess with his chair. Shepard had become very aware of the slow changes in the AI, particularly with Joker. The artificial intelligence was developing many "human characteristics", for lack of a better way of putting it, which made it difficult to not develop feelings for the non-organic. Shepard was beginning to view EDI as a valued part of her crew instead of just the ships computer.

The doors to the elevator soon opened and Shepard stepped through. As she rounded the corner to head to the Medbay Maria waved to Gardner as she passed, the kind cook giving her a smile and a nod in return. As Maria stepped into the medical bay, Dr. Chakwas spun around in her chair to face her, giving her a warm greeting, "Ah, Commander what can I do for you?" she asked.

"Hello Doctor Chakwas. Garrus wanted me to come down here to get looked at, and I don't feel like being dragged down here later by him so I have decided to keep my promise." Shepard explained, while sitting down on one of the medical beds.

"I'm surprised you came for help, it usually takes you being knocked out for you to get medical treatment. Though I'm sure Garrus would attempt it if you had tried to refuse or hide in your rooms." Chakwas joked with a knowing smile. The old woman walked over to her desk of supplies and picked up a scanner, clicking it to life as she returned to Shepard now sitting on the bed. "Take your shirt off and let's see how bad the damage is, you probably "forgot" to activate your medi gel when you should have huh?" Chakwas held the scanner over Shepard's shoulder and down her left arm, following the visible bruise marks and light blood tracks. Her work took her to the Commander's back, finishing with scanning her left shoulder blade. "Scans are showings that the muscles and cartilage in your shoulder is wearing out from repetitive hammer head rounds if I was to judge. So you will feel fatigue in your limbs which will cause the soreness that you probably feel periodically. You're lucky this time that the bullet went through cleanly, leaving you with an entry and exit wound. Since that is the case there is major bruising, plus these other scars still need time to heal. The medi gel and the cybernetics Cerberus brought you back with is taking care of the more serious injuries, torn muscles and ligaments. With rest and these pain pills you will be back to new in no time," Chakwas informed her.

"I don't need the pain pills Doc, just some rest maybe" Shepard waved off the pills. She hated taking pain pills. Being put on any medication wasn't something she had ever been fond of, preferring to never have her senses or body affected in anyway.

"Shepard can you ever just listen, just make things easier on yourself and take the pills." Chakwas said in a tired voice, she had this argument many times before with the Commander.

As she tossed the pill bottle on the bed next to the stubborn woman, the doctor moved the scanner over the Commander's black and blue ribs.

"Have you ever known me to take the easy way out?" Shepard asked her coolly, a smirk on her face.

The doctor rolled her eyes and chose to not comment, finishing up her scans quickly, "Well it seems you did more damage here, you have two cracked ribs Shepard. Honestly, how are you even able to continue fighting?" This women was the toughest soldier Chakwas had ever met, surviving a Thresher Maw attack now sounded simple compared to the things the doctor had witnessed Maria accomplish. Yes the Commander had done many things to prove how strong she was mentally and physically, that is why only she was the only one who could pull off what Cerberus was asking her.

"I don't know" Shepard shrugged lamely.

Chakwas rolled her eyes again, turning away from the Commander to retrieve a devise from the table. The small tool looked like a tiny gun with a thick needle at the end about an inch long.

Dammit, Shepard thought, that thing hurts like a son-of-a-bitch!

"You know the drill Shepard, put your right arm on my shoulder and try not to move." Chakwas instructed her. The doctor waited for Shepard to place her arm where it needed to be, looking for the sign that Maria was ready. Shepard nodded and Chakwas slid the needle into her side. Shepard cringed but stayed still, that wasn't the most painful part. Then Chakwas pulled the trigger of the tool and a hot fluid coated Maria's ribs.

"Holly shit! That fucking . . . Ahhh!" Shepard groaned through gritted teeth.

Chakwas pulled the needle out and applied some medi gel to the wound, closing it up and making the pain lessen until it gradually went away.

"Feel better?" Chakwas asked.

"Yes, thank you." Maria breathed slowly.

"Now take two of these before bed and two in the morning, and you should be fine" the doctor ordered, handing Shepard the pill bottle from the bed.

"Ok Doc, all take your stupid pills" Shepard submitted, buttoning her shirt up with a smile.

"Now, you should take it easy for a couple of day . . . which I know you will ignore, but please Shepard, at least use your medi gel when you're supposed to, it's there for a reason." Chakwas almost pleaded with her. She hate to think of what would happen if the Commander kept doing this to herself, the woman was highly skilled but luck was most definitely on her side, and you could only be so lucky for so long.

"I promise I will, we are going to be docked here for at least two more days. And finding the Justicar shouldn't be hard." Shepard told her while she walked to the door.

"I suppose so. However, your future crew mates always are in some sort of trouble when you find them. I wonder if it's just you or them." Chakwas commented off hand, turning in her chair to her terminal to continue her work.

Shepard laughed as she exited the medical bay, stuffing pills in her pocket as she made her way to the elevator. As she neared, the life support door caught her attention. I wonder how our newest member is doing, Shepard thought. She had planned on taking Thane with her, along with Garrus, to recruit the Justicar, she liked to see what the new crew members could do right away and how well they work in a team. Maria wasn't sure if she should speak with him now, or wait tell the morning. Shepard thought about it for a second, then opted for the morning, she would give Mr. Krios tonight to settle in to his knew situation.

Shepard hit the button to call the elevator, returning to her room. Shepard headed straight for her bed area, setting the pills Chakwas had given her down on her nightstand and turning to take a towel from the drawers, taking it with her as she entered the bathroom. Maria made quick work of her cloths as she striped them off, throwing them to the side as she entered the shower, the warm water automatically springing to life as she stepped in.

Feels so good, Maria thought. She could feel her muscles loosen and could feel herself relaxing under the warm steady plus of the spray. Shepard grabbed the shampoo from the stand, running it through her brown hair, noticing for the first time how long it was becoming; it would soon be past her shoulders. She always had to keep it short due to being in the military, one thing that had probably bothered her most about being a solider. Before she signed up with the Alliance, her hair had reached her waist, flowing down her back in shinny brown locks. She missed it. Perhaps she would start growing it out again, she was no longer with the Alliance anymore so why the hell not? Shepard finished up her shower and stepped out from under the spray, the water shutting off without the presence of her body under it. As she dried off, wrapping the towel around her, her reflection in the mirror caught her attention.

The unhealed scares from Project Lazarus glowed a faint orange, they weren't as bright as before though she noticed. Her dark brown hair framed her tear drop face, same tan skin with freckles dusted across her nose, same small straight nose, full lips and bright green , her eyes also held a bit of orange in them as well, at times she was told the orange would glow brighter during a fight. She didn't know exactly how to feel about the new cybernetic glow coming from her scares and eyes. Was she herself or just some cyborg? That last thought disturbed her very much, but Jacob had insured her that the Illusive Man wanted to bring her back as nothing more than herself. So that had settled some of her fears, and accept the fact that she was herself and the cybernetics just made her a stronger version of herself; she could live with that. She had been very pleased to find out the majority of her tattoos still remained. The two that were missing were the ones she got when she was running with the Reds, they had been done with an old fashion tattoo gun so during her reconstruction they didn't make it through. The ones she had gotten during her N7 training with a laser tattoo gun had stayed. Miranda said something about the laser being able to go deeper in the skin in order to leave a shadow imprint so the tattoos would always stay. Of course, Cerberus had to brighten them and touch them up, but Maria saw no change between the original and the new. She was happy with the outcome, she wouldn't be missing her Red tattoos and she didn't have to mourn the loss of the others.

One thing she had to get used to was the lack of old scars. She used to have one that ran through her lip and down her cheek, also there had been two scars that had ran diagonally down her right shoulder blade parallel to each other, acid marks scorched her left arm in random places, a knife wound had stood out against her stomach and across her right thigh, last was the bullet mark right above her heart. They were all gone now, completely erased. Some she had received in the gang, most she had gotten from her many years with the Alliance doing countless missions for humanity, and now it was like none of them ever happened. Apparently that's the way the Alliance felt too, because they didn't waste any time in abandoning me, she thought angrily.

Shepard stepped away from the mirror, not wanting to get caught up in bad memories. She exited the bathroom and went to her dresser, passing her desk with her awards, computer and the turned down photo frame she refused to think about. Shepard pulled out a black sports bra, black boy short underwear and a black tank top. She got dressed and sat at the edge of her bed with the pills in her hand. She toyed with the gold cross necklace she always wore with the rubies in it. It had been the only thing she owned when she ran away from the orphanage when she was ten. The nuns said when they found her the necklace was with her, something her parents wanted her to have, before they left her. Shepard had long gotten over the pain of having no family growing up. For a long time she had thought the Reds were her family, but after what they did, she couldn't stay, they went too far and Shepard was ashamed to have ever been a part of the gang. So she left and enlisted with the Alliance at twenty-one years old. That day, the Alliance became her family and she gave all she had to them. She even had to watch the slaughter of her whole team on Akuz by a nest of Thresher Maws.

Even that family didn't turn out so well, slandering her name as soon as the reports of her death came in. They didn't even want to believe her after she came back from the dead, neither did the council. Even after everything she's done for them, especially saving their asses at the Battle of the Citadel. At least Captain, well Councilor Anderson now, was still on her side. That helped a little with the frustration and hurt of the Alliance turning their back on her; if Anderson had given up on her too she didn't know what she would have done. Anderson had become very close to her, a second father figure in a way. The Council, she was used to them disbelieving and dismissing what she told them, so that didn't really do anything other than piss her off. Hell she was shocked they reinstated her Specter status, but it did come in handy. Even the person who she thought would stand by her through anything, the one person she didn't have a doubt in her mind would be here for her, was Kaidan Alenko.

Shepard couldn't believe what he had said to her on Horizon. The look of betrayal and mistrust still etched in her mind. It hurt to be pushed away and be called a traitor, but her hurt quickly turned to anger, then nothing at all. She had kept her cool on Horizon in front of Garrus and Jack, but once she was back in her rooms she took a shower, and in the privacy of her bathroom she broke down and cried. She had really cared for Kaidan and she had thought he had cared deeply for her too. She understood that it had been two years and he had probably moved on, but to call her a traitor and look at her with so much hatred in his eyes, she couldn't wrap her mind around it. He acted like he didn't know her, like they had never been friends and all they went through never happened. It was like he didn't even hear the fact that she had been unconscious for two years and that Cerberus, no matter how much she didn't trust them and didn't like them, were the only ones willing to do anything about the collectors and reapers. She did her best to try to talk to him, even Garrus had stepped in, but in the end he wouldn't listen and Shepard had accepted that. So she had stepped out of the bathroom, got dressed and walked over to the picture on her desk, after looking at it one more time she deleted the picture off the picture frame and set the frame face down so she did not to have to look at the empty space.

She was over the Horizon encounter now and accepted the fact that Kaidan was defiantly not the person shehad thought him to be. Someone who loves you is supposed to stick by no matter what and would have listened and understood. Hell even Tali, Joker and Garrus were with her and believed her. Liara had believed her and helped her best she could.

Maria let the cross drop back into place on her chest and popped two pills into her mouth and swallowed them. She needed to get some rest and stop dwelling on the past. They had to find the Justicar tomorrow. Maria said a quick prayer, and then drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**If any of you have seen Starship Troopers, there is a scene where they get tattoos by a laser so that's where the tattoo idea came from. Thanks for the reviews and the favorites. Please keep reviewing; it really does make a person want to continue.**


	3. Awaken

"No thank you. It's being attended to. If the finest medical minds in the Hanar Illuminated Primacy can't solve the problem, I doubt your ships medic could. Thank you for your concern. Trust me, this won't affect my performance." Thane turned down Shepard's offer to help find a solution to his sickness politely. He was surprised by her continued concern, he wondered if she acted this way toward everyone she met.

"If that's what you want, but if you change your mind Thane, just let me know. I also wanted to tell you that we will be leaving to find the Justicar in about twenty five minutes, so I would start getting ready. Meet me and Garrus up in the CIC when you're ready." Shepard informed him.

"I will be ready Shepard," Thane told her.

"Good, see you in a bit." Shepard smiled and then walked out.

Thane watched her walk out. He continued to stare at the door even after it closed. He had never met a person who showed so much concern for those they just met. Well except for . . . he had to stop that thought there, he needed to get ready for the upcoming mission and slipping into memories of sunset colored eyes would be counterproductive.

Thane left the chair he was sitting on and walked over to the glass case that housed his guns and began to ready himself for the mission ahead.

* * *

"Hey Garrus," Shepard called, as she walked into the tiny space that was the Main Battery Room. Garrus jumped from the sudden entrance of the Commander, which resulted in him hitting his head on the weapons board that he was under.

"Spirits be damned!" Garrus cried out. He made his way from under the board to glare at Shepard. "Don't you ever knock?" Garrus grumbled, rubbed the top of his head as he stood, towering over the Commander.

Shepard just rolled her eyes and grinned up at the big Turian, "My ship, I don't need to knock." She told him, amusement plainly shown on her face. Garrus continued to glare. "Stop being a baby, we both know you have gotten knocked in the head harder than that, remember the Mako rides?"

Garrus cringed in remembrance. Spirits those rides were hell, with Shepard almost driving them off cliffs, sometimes actually driving off of those cliffs, or making sharp turns, running into Colossuses. The whole way she would wear a smug smirk, knowing the occupants of the Mako could barely hold the contents of their stomach as she drove. The only one who had ever been able to endure those rides was Rex. He would encourage her every chance he got, laughing along with her. _Good times, _he thought, _horrifying and stressful, but good._

Garrus stuck his tongue out at her, something Shepard always did when she knew he was right but didn't want to admit it. "So what can I help you with Commander?" Garrus asked her.

"Just wanted to let you know we are leaving to recruit the Justicar in about twenty minutes. When you're ready, meet Thane and me up in the CIC." Shepard instructed him.

"Thane is the Drell we picked up yesterday right?" Garrus asked.

"Yes. I want to see how he works in a team; lord knows he can take care of himself alone." Shepard explained, leaning against the door frame.

"Yeah, he was very impressive, but who would you say had the best entrance? Thane, Jack, or me?" Garrus gave Shepard a Turian smile, while pulling out his sniper casing. Garrus sat on his cot and took out his sniper parts from the case and began to put them together as he waited for Shepard's answer.

"I don't know Garrus" Shepard faked thinking hard. "Jack took down three YMIR mecs and Thane took out a whole squad of Eclipse guards and his target in twenty seconds, you just shot people in the head from a ledge." Shepard joked, waving off his accomplishment.

"Hey, I did that all by my lonesome for hours! I managed to piss off every large gang in the Terminus and I did it all coming out looking better than ever." Garrus struck a pose, with his head pointed upwards and his hands on his hips.

Shepard gave out a bark of laughter, giving Garrus a big smile, "Ok hot stuff, be ready in twenty minutes and get your ass up to the CIC."

"So I'll take that as 'yes Garrus you had the best entrance?'" Garrus smiled at her.

Shepard rolled her eyes and closed the doors on him. She walked down the hallway to the elevator, waving to Gardner like she always did. As the elevator stopped at the CIC Shepard exited and went to the armory.

"Hey Commander," Jacob greeted her.

"Hey Jacob, could you unlock my armor case for me?" Shepard asked him, as she continued to walk past him and stopped in front of her locked case.

"Sure thing Commander." Jacob tapped the keys on his terminal, disabling the lock on Shepard's case.

Shepard thanked him before reaching in and retrieving her armor. It was custom built N7 armor, which she had Jacob paint a deep crimson color, black for the color of the strands around it and bright red for the stripe on her arm.

"So, you're going after the Asari today?" Jacob asked, not looking away from his terminal.

"That's the plane." The Commander told him. She stripped off her Commander uniform, wearing a tight military tank top and fitting black shorts, her gold necklace rested between her breasts. This is what she always wore under her armor.

Jacob admired the Commander through his peripheral vision. _The Commander is a beautiful woman, _he thought to himself.

"So, who are you taking with you Shepard?" Jacob asked. He had hoped he would be the one to go with the Commander, but obviously not, or she would have told him to be ready by now.

"Garrus and Thane," Shepard said plainly.

"Krios?" Jacob repeated with what could only be described as disgust. The solider abandoned his work at the terminal to turn his full attention to Shepard now.

"Is there any other Thane on the ship that I'm not aware of, it's not the most common name to hear?" Shepard continued to dress, not even turning her head in Jacob's direction, though the tone of her voice was clearly laced with irritation. If Jacob was smart he would back off now.

"Honestly Commander is taking an assassin with you the smartest idea." Jacob asked.

_Nope, he isn't very smart, is he?_ She thought snidely. "Mr. Taylor, I am the Commander of this ship and I decide who comes with me on missions. I don't recall you complaining when I took Jack or Zaeed or even Grunt with me on missions. Mr. Krios appears to be most civil and mild tempered person on this ship. Now, you have succeeded in questioning you're commanding officers judgment and intelligence and also acting in an unprofessional manner towards another crew mate. You have also succeeded in pissing me the hell off." Maria was on her feet, fully dressed in her armor and her hands cupped behind her back; the already intimidating woman made for a more imposing figure. "Now you either learn to get along with Thane or keep your mouth shut." Shepard snapped angrily, finishing her speech, her eyes glowing a brighter shade of orange.

"I . . . I'm sorry Commander. It won't happen again." Jacob let out in a quiet voice, Shepard could see that he honestly knew he made a mistake and was sorry.

"Jacob, I understand why you would mistrust him. He is an assassin, he is trained and paid to kill dangerous and important people for a living. But really, the whole crew including you and me are not saints. No one on this crew has the best reputations or ideal job. We are all the best at what we do and what we do the best revolves around killing or some form of crime." Shepard gave him a smile, laying her hand on his shoulder to let him know she wasn't angry anymore.

"You're right Commander. Thank you" He honestly didn't know why he was acting this way towards Krios, he didn't even know the guy. Just when he saw the man walk through the doors, with that damn hole in the middle of his shirt and the tight leather he was wearing it all instantly irritated him, adding fuel to his already prejudice ideas of the mans profession. Jacob just couldn't stand the guy. But the Commander was right, he needed to act professionally; didn't mean he had to like the man.

Jacob became very aware of how close the Commander was just then, still in her shorts and tank top, with her hand on his arm. He flashed her a smile giving her a small salute before turning back to his work. Shepard turned away from him as well now that the confrontation was over and continued to get ready for the mission, strapping guns to her armor. Neither of them knew about the Drell listening in on them outside the door.

Shepard might not know what was going on with Jacob but Thane did. The man was being territorial. He didn't want him near Shepard, for some reason he saw him as a threat and was jealous he was going with Shepard on the mission. Drell were no acceptation to this universal behavior, and if Thane had the slightest interest in Shepard he might react similarly, just not as obvious.

Thane was a bit amused by this new information, but didn't think much on it. He wasn't here to build a relationship with the human Commander, he was here to work for her and that was it. With that last thought, Thane turned around and headed for the front of the ship.

Thane walked over to the ships exit, waiting by the door for the Commander and the other crew member she was bringing along. Thane didn't have to wait long, the armory doors opened and Shepard walked through, fully dressed in her armor. It was hard to think that such a small human woman had accomplished so much. That she was one of the most feared individuals in the galaxy, one of the strongest from what he had heard. _How could something so small be that powerful_? Thane thought as he watched her.

As the Commander continued to make her way towards him, Thane took the time to analyze her. The woman walked with her back perfectly straight and her head held high, radiating confidence. She was an intimidating figure but not an unapproachable one, a person could clearly see the kindness in her eyes, but they also held a warning in them that spoke volumes to her skill and experience. Physically she was very small, only standing at five three or four, and her body thin, but strongly built with lightly defined muscles. Her skin was the color of wet sand in the sunlight, reminding him of the rare days on the beaches of Kahje, when the rain would stop falling, allowing the light sand to be darken only by the waves, then dry in the warmth of the sun. The comparison stimulated a warmth in his chest that began to slowly spread. Thane caught her eyes at that moment as she drew closer, they were the brightest green he had ever seen, they almost appeared to glow. However, he had witnessed the change in them during her fight through Nassana's tower, the almond shaped orbs glowed a deep orange color during battle and was possibly in tune with her emotions somehow, along with the scars on her face. Thane was curious where the unnatural glow originated from, but would not allow himself to ask for fear of coming off rude or out of line. The assassin concluded that the human woman was definitely unique, inside and out._ It is easy to see why the other human, Jacob, would be so infatuated with her. Her physical beauty wasn't the only quality that causes every person in the room to turn to her as she passes, _Thane thought to himself, the warmth in his chest now working it's way pleasantness down his spine. Thane ripped his gaze from the Commander's approaching presence, attempting to banish the unusual feeling that had taken over his body. He hadn't thought of another woman as anything more than just another person in the crowds since Irikah, and had not felt such a strong reaction to anything since her death. Thane didn't have long to dwell on the matter, Shepard had arrived at the doors next to him, flashing him a large smile, showing off her many white teeth.

"Here even before the Commander. You're punctuality is much appreciated Thane. Now only if the rest of the crew followed suit." Shepard's hand went up to her right ear and she spoke into her comm, "Hey Garrus, where you at?"

"I'm on my way up Shepard, keep your pants on!" A voice from the other side of her comm replied in an amused voice.

Shepard laughed lightly, "Hurry the hell up, Thane was here even before me!"

"Well I'll be sure to congratulate him when I get there" The voice retaliated sarcastically, before Shepard dropped the connection.

"That smart ass you just heard on the other line, is Garrus, he is the Turian that was pointing the sniper rifle at you when we met. He will obviously be accompanying us on this mission." Shepard explained to him.

"I see. Does he always speak to you in that manner?" Thane questioned stoically, though honestly curious about the interaction. He didn't think military soldiers spoke to their Commanders that way. He doubted the Turian military was any different than the human one when it came to how you address your Commanding officer. That man, Jacob, had been ashamed by the way he had spoken to Shepard, and he had still referred to her by her respectable title of Commander throughout the conversation.

"Garrus is one of my closest friends. We've went through hell and back together, along with Tali and Joker while fighting Saren, the geth and the reaper two years ago. So if you hear them being smart asses, it's because they have earned it, they are family to me. That and I have a pretty great sense of humor." Shepard explained to him.

_She really cares for her old crew members, _Thane thought as he stared down at her. He had never met anyone like this human, she was . . . intriguing.

"Alright I'm here you can all call off the search party" Garrus announced as he walked up to them.

"Finally! Now let's go." Shepard muttered, grinning as she rolled her eyes, she pressed the button to activate the doors to let them out of the ship.

* * *

_Well that had been a productive day,_ the Commander thought pleasantly to herself, as Garrus, Thane and her made their way back to the ship. They had succeeded in their goal to recruit the Justicar, Samara, helped out the Asari police women with her investigation and brought down a volus drug dealer. Now they were walking through the kiosks, looking at the venders varies items while returning to the Normandy. Shepard stopped at one of the kiosks to get a better look at what the Asari had for sale. Garrus walked over to a sniper rifle kiosk while Thane stood by the railing overlooking the city.

Thane couldn't take his eyes off the scenery before him.

"Thane, you ok?" Shepard asked as she walked up alongside him.

"Yes. I just noticed . . . I spent the last two years here. I had a purpose, a goal, now that I have accomplished it something has occurred to me. In all that time . . . I never looked at the horizon. It is, spectacular." Thane breathed in a memorized voice.

Shepard just stared at him for a second, not knowing what to say. Then she looked out at the horizon and agreed; it was spectacular. "_Es hermoso."_ Shepard commented.

Thane turned his head towards her, with what Shepard could only describe as a confused look on his face. "I think my translator just glitches. What did you say?" Thane questioned her.

Shepard laughed lightly at his question and the look on his face, "It means 'it is beautiful'. It's Spanish. Most humans speak English now, especially those in space so that's what an alien's translator is programmed to pick up. You can get it programmed for every language, but most don't bother because it's not necessary." she explained to him. "I thought an assassin would know that," Shepard teased him, keeping a smile on her face just in case he took it the wrong way.

"Most of my targets weren't human. Maybe that's why the Hanar did not feel the need to update my translator?" Thane stated. "And even as a freelancer, I never come in contact with a human I could not understand with my translator." Thane turned his body completely towards her, "How did you learn that language?" Thane asked her curiously.

"I was born in Mexico. It's a country back on Earth. I was raised in an orphanage and the nuns there would teach the children to speak the native language. None of us had homes or families, so they just wanted to give us a connection to the land. Gives us a bit of heritage, something we would always have to keep with us." Shepard's hand went to her chest, before she realized she couldn't play with the cross around her neck due to her armor. Thane saw this and wondered why she did it, but did not comment on it.

Thane stared at the woman in front of him, taking in her smooth alien skin that was a rich tan color, the soft looking silky brown stuff on top of her head that humans called hair, her scars on her face and her bright green eyes. Every color stood out to him and each of her features he lingered on, taking them in. He could smell her scent, a clean smell, like the smell of rain. It reminded him of Kahje once again. He also noticed all the sounds, smells and colors around him. He had been here two years and he hadn't ever noticed any of this before. The only sounds he heard were those pertaining to his target and possible threats, there had been no color in his world for the longest time. Now he was able to see everything, as if he was awake for the first time.

"You guys done?" Garrus broke through Thane's trance. Both the Commander and Thane looked towards Garrus and nodded their heads. The trio continued their walk to the ship. Thane's mind filled with his knew awareness as he glanced at the Commander once more, but he wasn't sure what to make of what he just realized. He was awaken from his battle sleep.

**I give much thanks to my new beta reader, voltagelisa, She is wonderful and has helped me a LOT! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.**


	4. Making Friends and More

The Normandy was on course to Tuchanka, in order to find answers to Grunt's out of control rage and to help Mordin find his old assistant, Maelon. The Commander had so far succeeded in recruited both the assassin and the Justicar. She had kept Miranda's sister safe from her father and she had helped Jacob find his own father. While helping Jacob the crew had successfully saved the poisoned crew members from the island and Maria had left Jacob's father for the Alliance to find. Now Shepard was walking through the CIC, having just finished talking with Joker, now her business took her over to Kelly for an update.

"Hello Commander," Kelly greeted in her usual cheery voice.

"Hey Kelly, how is everything going?" Shepard asked her.

"Everything is running smoothly Commander. I just finished talking to our newest crew members. I can't believe we have an asari Justicar on board. There is nothing more absolute than the oath of an Justicar. You did well getting Samar on our side. She is so elegant and gorgeous. Too bad her manner is so . . . cold" Kelly ended with a disappointed look on her face.

"I was honored when she made her oath to me; it's probably difficult for someone so bound to a strict code to forgo their morals to adopt another's; especially a strangers." Maria wore an expression of gratitude and understanding as she talked. It spoke a lot about the Commander that she was aware of the sacrifice Samara had to make to be a part of her crew. However, the look faded as the Commander switched the subject of their discussion, "What did you think about Thane?" she asked curiously.

"I'm surprised by Thane's spiritual side. His psych profile mentioned little of it, and he carries himself with such cold confidence. I'm not sure if I find him scary or sexy?" Kelly finished with a shy smile.

"Lot of woman like bad boys," Shepard shrugged. She had had similar thoughts on Thane the same as Kelly did. However, during one of their talks, before Miranda's mission, he had taken the time to explain to her how exactly he had become an assassin. How the Hanar had trained him since he was six and about the compact between their races, as well as the sad state of Rakhana now. During their conversation he had accidentally recalled a past assassination, something about sunset colored eyes that he had not been keen to share more about. She had politely chosen to not pry, despite her curiosity. Later on, before they left for Jacob's mission, they had another moment to speak as they both waited in the Cargo Bay for the Cerberus operative to show. She had questioned him about his religion, his people and the hanar. She learned about the varies gods he prayed to and when he prayed to them and how close drell are to the hanar. The drell would even undergo surgery done on their eyes in order to be able to see the hanar's bioluminescence. She also learned about the relevance of a hanar telling you their soul name. All in all the conversations had been informative and interesting. Thane had been very friendly throughout all of them, so she wasn't too worried about the guy. She had found him very pleasant to be around and enjoyed her time with him.

"A lot of women, like you?" Kelly questioned in a teasing voice.

Shepard gave her a cool and honest response, "I live a dangerous life, dangerous men fit right in." _An honest answer, but still didn't tell her anything about Thane particularly, _Shepard thought satisfied with the way she handled Kelly's question.

"I like you more and more each day Shepard," Kelly accepted her answer happily.

"I'll see you later Kelly," Shepard smiled to her, turning around and heading to the elevator. Before the doors could close completely, Kelly's voice drifted to her once again.

"Oh Shepard, Jack wants to see you by the way." Kelly called after her.

Shepard nodded her head before the doors closed, redirecting the elevator to the cargo bay.

* * *

"What's going on Jack?" Shepard asked her as she rounded the corner of her den. It was obvious Jack was in some sort of distress.

"I got thoughts, like little bugs crawling around in and out of my head. I can't stop them." Jack ranted, her hands moving franticly to her head, her body not able to stay still as she walked around the room. Shepard watched as she walked agitatedly over to the stairs and finally sat down. She then began to tell Shepard about her time in the Cerberus testing facility, what they did, how she escaped and her plan to blow it up. At first Shepard wasn't sure about that plan; it wouldn't be smart to blow a place that belonged to the people funding them, no matter how much they deserved it. Then Jack informed her that it was abandoned, allowing Shepard to agree to her request.

"Right after we are done with our business on Tuchanka, we will go to Pragia." Shepard promised her.

"Thanks Shepard. I owe you." Jack spoke lightly to her; Shepard's acceptance seemed to bring her some form of peace, allowing her body to relax.

* * *

Shepard was back in the elevator heading to the crew deck with Tali accompanying her. They had been down in engineering together when the call for dinner reached them. The doors opened and the two women stepped out, Shepard laughing at how flustered Tali had become when she questioned her relationship with Kal'Reegar.

"Come on Tali, don't act like you don't like him," Shepard continued to joke as they retrieved their different foods and walked over to the tables in the mess hall.

"I don't know what you are talking about Shepard" Tali avoided looking at Shepard as she sat down across from her.

"Uh-huh. Honestly Tali, I don't know why you won't admit it. I mean he seemed really nice, loyal and god knows he has more courage than most marines. The guy was ready to take on a swarm of geth and a Colossus, while injured just to keep you safe!" Shepard tried to get her to admit her feeling. "Besides, he is cute" Shepard smiled at her, giving her a wink.

"How would you even know that Shepard? You don't even know what he looks like under his helmet." Tali retaliated, finally turning her head to stare at the Commander with what Shepard knew to be a disbelieving look.

"I don't have to in order to know he is attractive." Maria stated simply, taking a bite of her food. Tali continued to stare at her, so she continued. "It's his personality Tali. There is something to be said about a man who would be willing to take on a small army of geth for only one woman. He is strong, dependable and loves your people as much as you do." Shepard lifted a brow to the woman as she finished, noticing the change in her friend as she absorbed her words. "Besides, it's not like your suits leave a lot to the imagination. And if he turns out ugly, just keep the bucket over his head and focus on his body." Shepard teased with a wicked grin, receiving a slap on the arm form her quarian friend, though Tali could not contain her own laughter from bubbling through.

"I bet you even know what he looks like under that helmet don't you?" Shepard continued to pry and tease.

Maria could see the slight creep of color enter the woman's cheeks as her head turned away, "Well, we have known each other since we were children. Naturally I would have seen his face a couple of times."

Maria narrowed her eyes at the woman, her lips turned up in a smirk, "So, is he cute?"

"He is . . . attractive, yes." Tali spoke slowly, immediately lifting her food to her feeding tube, avoiding Shepard's eye contact.

Maria gave the woman a large smile, laughing lightly at her embarrassment, "So I was right, he is cute!"

"Now Shepard you have to stop talking about me like that, the rest of the crew is going to get ideas," Garrus joked as he sat down with his tray of food next to Tali and gave the Commander a wide Turian smile.

"Not you Garrus." Shepard narrowed her eyes at him, "Kal'Reegar."

"Oh. Is that the guy from Haestrom?" Garrus questioned, before putting a fork full of whatever he was eating into his mouth.

"Yes he is, but there is nothing going on between us. Shepard is just trying to make me blush." Tali insisted. She drank more from the tub coming from her suit.

"People don't blush unless they are embarrassed by something someone has found out!" Shepard commented triumphantly, pointing her fork at Tali.

"She has a point," Garrus nodded his head.

Tali looked between the two of them, not knowing what to say.

"You bosh'teta." Tali grumbled.

Shepard only gave her a big grin while raising her eyebrows, taking another bite of her dinner.

"Ok. You win. I will admit I am a little attracted to Kal. Happy?" Tali asked her while taking another sip of her soup.

"Yes, I am. Now how are we going to get them together Garrus?" Shepard turned her attention to the Turian in front of her with a mischievous look on her face.

"Oh Keelah!" Tali shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

Garrus and Shepard could not contain their laughter at the young woman's distress; they could only imagine the look on Tali's face. The quarian stared at them through narrowed eyes through her helmet, eventually opting to just shake her head at them and let them have their fun, one day it would be one of them getting teased, then another crew member, then another, that's how ship life worked; a never ending cycle.

"What are you all laughing about?" Kasumi had walked into the mess hall without them noticing, followed by Zaeed. They both grabbed some food and sat down with the group.

"Tali has a boyfriend." Garrus informed them, continuing to grin at the woman.

"Oh shut up you bosh'tet!" Tali nudged him with her shoulder.

"Awww. How cute. Who is he?" Kasumi asked Tali eagerly.

"Really, are we all gossiping like a bunch of school girls?" Zaeed grumbled, rolling his eyes while taking a big bite of chicken.

"Well I don't know if you have noticed Zaeed but we are girls, and girls gossip. So get over yourself." Kasumi waved him off, turning back to Tali.

"Wait a minute. I'm not a girl." Garrus corrected her.

"Just put a pink bow on his head and call him Sally." Shepard smiled.

The whole group began to laugh at Garrus, even Zaeed. Garrus looked between the group wordlessly, before standing from his seat and walking over to the forward battery, the door closing behind him.

"Aw. Come on Garrus." Shepard called after him.

"I thought he had a better sense of humor than that." Tali commented.

Suddenly the doors opened again, and out walked Garrus. Shepard mouth dropped open in shock, the whole group went silent.

"So, what do you think?" Garrus asked spinning around for them. Garrus stood before them, tall and proud, pink bow sitting on top of his head.

"Oh. My. God." Shepard let out slowly, stunned by what she saw.

Then, all at once, the group erupted into more laughter. Shepard fell out of her seat she was laughing so hard, holding her sides as she went down.

Garrus sat back down in his original spot, just smiling at all of them.

"Where did you get that, Garrus?" Tali managed to get out between her laughter.

"Shepard gave it to me," Garrus answered.

"When did I give you that?" Shepard asked from the floor.

"It was part of the wrapping for my Christmas present you gave me two years ago, remember?" Garrus reminded her.

"You kept the bow? Most people throw those out." Shepard smiled up at him; she was still sitting on the floor.

"I thought it was pretty," Garrus pouted, though his eyes showed his clear amusement.

That caused them all to laugh even harder.

"You all sound like your thoroughly enjoying yourselves?" Samara commented behind the Commander. The asari leaned on one of the bulk heads in the mess, a look of amusement on her beautiful face.

"Come join us Samara," Shepard waved her over.

"I enjoy your new look Mr. Vakarian." Samara complemented as she passed him to get a plate of food, then sat herself next to him.

"See, Samara thinks I look good," Garrus told them while gesturing to the Justicar.

"I would reconsider your choice of head accessories, Officer Vakarian." a deep gravelly voice spoke closely behind Shepard. Shepard looked straight up, Thane looked down at her, the same stoic look he always wore in place. However, Shepard could see the amusement in his eyes. She was getting better at reading his facial expressions, or lack thereof.

"Don't be jealous Thane," Kasumi teased him.

"Yeah Krios, just because I look better as a girl doesn't mean you have to be sad about it," Garrus retorted.

"Run the other way Thane, before these women turn you into one of them, like this one over here." Zaeed advised him while jamming his thumb in Garrus' direction.

"I am confident in my abilities to remaining my same gender and still dine with the ladies, Mr. Massani," Thane spoke, the corners of his lips now turning up slightly.

"Well aren't you confident." Tail told him, the smile evident in her voice.

Thane gave a small bow to Tali, before turning his attention to his Commander on the floor.

"Would you like a hand getting up Shepard?" Thane offered her his hand, which she took gladly. She could feel his smooth, cool scales under her hand, they felt good.

"Thank you Thane," Maria smiled up at him.

"Any time Shepard," Thane gave her a smile, a real one showing off his teeth, before slipping back into his regular look. Shepard liked it when he smiled like that; she felt a strange sense of lose to see it gone so quickly. _That's strange, where did that come from? _Shepard shook off her mental thoughts, instead returning back to the present group.

"Come sit with us and eat." Shepard invited him, gesturing to the table

"Thank you." Thane bowed his head and walked to the kitchen area to grab a plate of food and sat down next to Shepard.

"So Commander, what do you plan on accomplishing on Tuchanka?" Samara asked her in her usual serene voice.

"We are going to get some questions answered for Grunt. I figured only a Krogen would be able to explain why he is more blood thirsty than usual." Shepard explained. "Then there is Maelon, Mordin's old assistant. Mordin thinks he is in trouble so we are going to check it out," Shepard finished. Maria took another bite of her now cold dinner.

"Great. So now we are going to piss off some Krogen by bring a tank breed, over enraged super Krogen to their world and save a former salarian STG agent, who helped modify the genophage. Am I correct, or have a I missed something?" Garrus summed up sarcastically.

"Pretty much, yeah that's the plan." Shepard answered with a smile.

"Sounds like fun," Zaeed commented as he stood up and carried his plate to the counter and set it down. "I'll see all you lot tomorrow." He called as he left for the elevator.

"I should probably get some sleep too." Garrus stood up from his seat and placed his empty plate on top of Zaeeds. "Night everyone." Garrus waved to them and walked towards his room, pink bow still on his head.

"I have never met a Turian with that great of a sense of humor," Kasumi commented to the remaining group.

"That's Garrus for you." Shepard spoke fondly, smile gracing her lips. She loved Garrus, he was her best friend, right next to Tali..

"I can't believe he put that bow on his head. I wonder if he will forget it is on. It would be funny to see him go on the next mission with it one." Tali laughed at the end.

Shepard laughed at the picture that had developed of Garrus with a pink bow on his head, sniping people and yelling out 'Head Shot!'.

"Officer Vakarian must be very secure and confident with himself to feel comfortable to wear that on his head, especially among people he hasn't known for a long period of time." Thane commented.

"Garrus definitely doesn't lack for confidence when it comes to entertaining people," Shepard agreed. _Her friend did lack confidence when it came to leadership though, _she thought to herself sadly. _All because what Sidonis had done to him_. "Maybe we will get you a pink bow that way you and Garrus can match next time." Shepard smiled at Thane.

Both Tali and Kasumi giggled into their hands. Thane looked at Shepard, both brow ridges raised, his lips formed a small smile, "I don't think I could pull off the look like Garrus did," Now the girls were full on laughing again. The picture of Thane with a pink bow was funnier than the one of Garrus.

"Ok, I have to leave before I hurt myself laughing too much. Night everyone," Kasumi said goodbye and walked to her room.

"I need to go too; I had one more repair to do before I go to sleep. See you two in the morning," Tali also left, Samara following shortly after, leaving Shepard and Thane alone.

"So do you have a few minutes to talk? There was actually something I wanted to ask you." Shepard turned towards Thane, resting both legs on either side of the seat they were sharing.

"If you wish," Thane nodded to her.

"The last time we talked, you were speaking of a past event as if you were watching it." Shepard told him, allowing her curiosity about the action to finally resurface.

"Drell have perfect memories. We can relive any moment in our lives with perfect clarity. It's difficult to control at times. Some of us disappear into . . . hmmm let's call it solipsism." Thane informed her.

"What do you mean, 'solipsism'?" she asked.

"When a memory feels as real as life, it's as valid as life. Thinking about a moment brings back the smell of cut grass, the warmth of another's hand on yours, the taste of another's tongue in your mouth." Thane leaned slightly towards her. Shepard was lost in his description, in his eyes. "Wouldn't you rather lose yourself in such a memory, than spend the nights alone, staring at walls of metal and plastic?" He asked her.

"Isn't there a risk that you could lose yourself in bad memories as well?" Shepard questioned him. She was trying to not think of his examples of moments to get lost in, specifically the one of another's tongue in her mouth. _Or his, _she thought. _Shut up, _she chided herself.

"Of course. Remembering the times I have taken bullets is . . . unpleasant. But I can look at my knee and see it's not shattered. The memories that are hard to escape are those of despair." He finished solemnly .

"You can remember everything that has happened in your life?" Shepard tried to distract him from his moment of sadness.

"Nearly. And I expect if we remembered the birth trauma, we would never recover from it." he joked. He was grateful for being saved from his unpleasant thoughts.

Shepard gave a small smile to his joke, "You can re-live every assassination you have ever made?" the Commander asked in awe.

"In perfect detail. Every mistake I made. Every target's last breath." Thane told her.

"That sounds difficult. At any moment you could re-live the guilt." Shepard assumed.

"Guilt? No I have never felt any particular guilt about my contracts." Thane told her calmly. "My employers killed them. My body was only the tool they used. If you kill a man with your gun, do you hold the gun responsible?" Thane explained, wondering if she would actually understand what he was trying to tell her.

"My gun can't decide right from wrong, you clearly do." Shepard argued.

"My soul does, but my body is merely flesh. Flesh whose reflexes were honed to kill. Drell minds are different from humans'. We see our body as a vessel and accept that it is not always under our control." Thane tried to explain to her.

"So you don't assume any responsibility for the thing you do?" She asked.

"Not every action performed by my body is a result of conscious choice. I take responsibility for those that are. Humans often believe in a soul distinct from the body. A spirit responsible for moral reasoning that lives on after the body's death. Our belief is just a bit more literal." Thane answered her.

"That's . . . interesting." Shepard gave a small smile, playing with the cross at her throat as she looked down at his hands. "Makes sense, though." Shepard returned her gaze to his own.

Thane stared at the gold necklace around her neck; she often fingered the pendent on it.

"What is that?" Thane asked her, pointing to the pendent in her hand.

"This? It's called a cross. It's something I have had with me since I was born I'm guessing. Something my parents left with me, before leaving me on the steps of an orphanage." Shepard finished in a low voice.

_Her parents abandoned her, but left her with something to remember them, _Thane lowered his face. _No better than what I have done, _Thane thought. _If she ever knew . . . she wouldn't be too interested in getting to know you, in being your friend. She would never want you, and you do not deserve a woman such as her._ Thane had been thinking more and more about the Commander, there was something about her he just couldn't get enough of, something that awoken apart of him he didn't even know still existed. _Just like Irikah had, _Thane thought to himself. _She is your Commander and a human, stop it!_ The little voice in Thanes head yelled at him.

"The last time we spoke, you remembered one of your assassinations. Something about 'sunset-colored' eyes?" Shepard questioned, braking through his internal conversation.

"Ah. That time." Thane remembered, letting himself slip into past memories. "_Leaser dart trembles on his skull. Spice on the spring wind. Sunset eyes, defiant in the scope._" Thane came out of his memory suddenly. "A bystander noticed my spotting leaser, and through herself in between myself and the target. She couldn't see me, but she stared me down." Thane explained to her.

"It was odd that you just blurted it out. Just another vivid drell memory?" Shepard asked.

"Not-no she was a vivid person." Thane explained to her vaguely.

"Did you take the shot?" Shepard continued, realizing that was the only answer she would receive.

"Not that day?" Thane told her, a sad note to his voice.

Shepard stared at him, wondering who this woman was and what she meant to Thane. Shepard stood from her seat and took their plates to the counter, Thane watching her the whole way. His obsidian eyes were transfixed on the light movement of her body and the sway of her hips.

The Commander was very aware of his eyes on her, the attention sending a pleasant tingle down her spine and a heat to build in her lower belly. As Maria turned back to him she remained by the counter, speaking to him, "I should get to bed Thane, tomorrow I have both Mordin's and Grunt's problems to deal with, but thanks for the talk. I enjoyed it like always." Shepard smiled to him, leaning against the counter top.

Thane stood and walked to her so he stood directly in front of her; the heat from his body able to be felt through her thin black tank top, "I appreciate these chats we have as well Shepard."

"You've spent a lot of your life alone, Thane." Maria looked up at him with an almost sad expression.

Thane gave out a short laugh, "Work fulfilled me. Reading. I barley spoke to anyone outside my family." Thane told her. "It seems there will be no one to mourn me when I die. You are the only friend I have made in ten years." Thane finished, looking at her with his big dark green eyes.

_Here goes nothing_, Shepard thought before taking a breath and pushing of the counter and walking to the archway of the mess hall, turning to the side to face Thane, again his eyes had followed her every movement. "Friends, hmm? It's a start." She gave him a small smile, hoping she hadn't just made a fool of herself.

Thane couldn't stop the heat from spreading throughout his body, his neck ridges brightening only a fraction as a smile reached his lips, "A start? That's . . . intriguing." _Is she making a pass at me or am I just imagining it? _"I will always be here to talk" He assured her.

"So will I. Night Thane." Shepard nodded to him, still smiling. She walked backwards to the elevator before turning the corner and entering it, pushing the button to her room.

"Goodnight, Shepard." Thane stood there even after she had left. Looking at the spot she had just occupied. _Gods what is happening to me?_


	5. Lets See What You Got

"Shepard!" The Urdnot clan leader called out to her with a grin as he rose from his stone throne.

"Good enough?" Shepard asked the guards sarcastically. "Excuse me." She told them as she pushed her way past to greet Wrex.

Wrex shoved the other Krogan who had been complaining to him out of the way and picked Shepard up in a bone crushing embrace. "Shepard! My friend!" He exclaimed happily in his usual deep voice. Wrex was a force to be reckoned with and feared by almost everyone he came in contact with; for good reason too. Wrex was a skilled and ruthless enemy to have, but when it came to Shepard he was a big softy.

Shepard smiled and laughed the best she could with Wrex cutting off her air supply. She was ecstatic to see her old friend, Wrex had gone on almost every mission with her back on the old Normandy and they had grown real close during their adventures. "It's nice to see you too Wrex, but you're kind of killing me here." Shepard managed to get out.

Wrex set the Commander down and clapped her on the back, which almost caused her to face plant into the stone floor. "Sorry Shepard. Forgot how soft humans are." He smiled as she rubbed her side. "And Garrus. You look like you have been having one hell of a time." Wrex shook Garrus' hand heartily, while gesturing with his other at the scare on the side of Garrus' face.

"You know life with Shepard; always exciting." Garrus said coolly, smiling at the Commander.

"Lucky bastard!" Wrex chuckled darkly. He stepped back and let go of Garrus' hand, ignoring the younger Krogan behind them. He looked back to Shepard, "You look well for dead, Shepard. Should have known the void wouldn't hold you." Wrex commented, looking her up and down with an amused look, and a bit of pride.

"Looks like helping me destroy Saren and the geth has worked out for you. I'm glad we didn't have to kill each other on Virmire." Shepard commented with a smirk. She wasn't exactly sure she would have been able to kill him. He had grown to be a true friend during those days, just like Garrus and Tali.

Wrex gave out a harsh laugh, "You made the rise of Urdnot possible. Virmire was a turning point for the Krogan, though not everyone was happy about it." Wrex glared at the smaller Krogan in blue armor next to him, the one that had been speaking to him when she arrived. Wrex continued, looking towards Shepard, "Destroying Saren's genophage cure freed us from his manipulation. I used that to spur the clans to unify under Urdnot."

"You abandon many traditions to get your way. Dangerous." The smaller Krogan spat, turning his glare on Shepard at the end of his comment.

Wrex didn't like this for two reasons. One, the fool needed to learn his place and know when to shut up. Second, he didn't like how he had disrespected his friend. Wrex turned towards the Krogan, and without warning, smashed his face plate into the other Krogan's head. He didn't do it hard enough to cause major injury, just enough to let him know who was in charge. "Speak when spoken to Uvenk. I'll drag your clan to glory whether it likes it or not." Wrex turned from Uvenk and returned to the stone throne behind him.

Shepard and her group walked past the humiliated Krogan. Shepard flashed him a grin just to irritate him. Shepard, Garrus and Grunt stood before Wrex's throne, looking up at the mighty Krogan warlord.

"Now Shepard, what brings you here? How's the Normandy?" Wrex questioned.

"Destroyed in a Collector surprise attack. I ended up spaced." She told him.

"Well, you look good. Ah, the benefits of a redundant nervous system!" Wrex commented.

"Yeah, humans don't have that." Shepard corrected him, wincing at the memory of the pain.

"Oh. It must have been painful, then. But you're standing here, and you've got a strong new ship." Wrex said approvingly. _Shepard is as tough as a Thresher Maw, _he thought to himself. "Takes me back to the old days. Us against the unknown, killing it with big guns. Good times." Wrex finished. He really missed those days.

"Sounds like you got big changes ahead for the Krogan." Shepard commented.

"We are making a neutral ground where all clans are welcome. Fertile females can be shared among clans. We will strengthen the race as a whole." Wrex explained in a proud and confident voice.

The "small" Krogan, Uvenk, had again built up the courage to speak out. "You threaten everything that makes us strong. It will not last."

"Maybe. Until then, you're lucky to be a part of it." Wrex dismissed him in a low intimidating voice.

"I hope that works well for your people. But back to the reason I'm here . . ." Shepard would discuss Wrex's plans further with him at a later time. Right now she had to keep on track with her two missions.

"We don't often allow aliens to do business on Tuchanka, but you're an exception," Wrex told her.

"Thank you. I'm honored." Shepard told him respectfully. "I have a Krogan on my crew. He has some kind of sickness and needs treatment," She told him, jerking her head in the direction of Grunt behind her.

Wrex's face grew serious and he leaned forward, assessing Grunt. Shepard and Garrus moved out of the way as Grunt moved forward, his head held high, but Shepard could see the nervousness in his eyes.

"Where are you from whelp? Was your clan destroyed before you could learn what is expected of you?" Wrex asked him in a stern tone. Not at all the tone of voice he had used with Shepard.

"I have no clan. I was tank-bred by the Warlord Okeer, my line distilled from Kredak, Moro, Shiagur . . . " Grunt recited, before being cut off by Uvenk, who was pacing around him.

_Man was this guy annoying, _Shepard thought.

"You recite warlords, but you are the offspring of a syringe!" Uvenk spoke with disgust, invading Grunt's personal space before turning his back on him and returning to his spot off to the side.

"I am pure Krogan. You should be in awe." Grunt spoke, gesturing his arms out wide, displaying more confidence then Shepard knew he had at that moment.

"Okeer is a very old name. A very hated name." Wrex responded while standing from his throne and walking down the steps to come to a stop in front of Grunt.

Grunt swallowed down his nervousness before speaking to the impressive clan leader before him, "He is dead."

"Of course. You're with Shepard, How could he be alive?" Wrex asked rhetorically.

"I need Grunt back up to speed. What's wrong with him?" Shepard cut in.

"There's nothing wrong with him. He's becoming a full adult." Wrex told her.

"Puberty. Can't we just take him to Omega and get him some dancers?" Garrus asked in his usual sarcastic way.

"I don't care what aliens call it. Krogan's undergo the Rite of Passage." Wrex told them.

"To far Wrex! Your clan may rule but this thing is not Krogan!" Uvenk stormed past them, off to someplace else.

Wrex looked after him, "Idiot." His attention returning to Grunt, "So, Grunt? Do you wish to stand with Urdnot?" Wrex asked.

Shepard walked up to the two, "What does the Rite of Passage require?"

"Not for me to say Shepard. The shaman will discuss that." Wrex told her.

"What happened if he doesn't do this Rite of Passage?" Shepard questioned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"If he was left here, he would be killed. The clanless are not respected. A take-bred probably more so. His disposition is what it is, rite or no. That's just him being a Krogan. Okeer didn't tell you that in the tank? Did he boy?" Wrex finished.

"This is your choice Grunt." Shepard nodded to him.

Grunt turned around, facing the land he thought at first as a waste, nothing but garbage. Now he was starting to see it as only a Krogan, and maybe Shepard, could see it. A land for the strong, where his people lived, fought and thrived. This clan, Urdnot, it was one of the strongest and Wrex was a leader to be feared and respected. He would be honored to join with his clan and be a part of this world he felt no attachment to before.

Grunt turned back to Shepard and Wrex, "It is in my blood, it is what I am made for."

"Good boy. Speak with the shaman - he is over on the second level. Give him a good show and he will set you on the path." Wrex instructed them. Wrex turned back to his stone seat, but before sitting he turned towards Shepard, "You to Shepard. How many times have you stepped in a mess for your crew, humm?" Shepard did more for her crew than any leader he had ever known. She was the one who helped retrieved his families armor and he would always be thankful to her for that.

"I'll talk to you later Wrex," Shepard told him.

"Watch yourself out there Shepard. Tuchanka isn't homey like Feros or Illos." Wrex warned her, before her group and her turned their backs and made their way to the second level.

* * *

"You go beyond yourself, Gatatog Uvenk! The rites of Urdnot are dominate!" A Krogan in regular clothing, who Shepard presumed was the shaman, spoke to Uvenk in a harsh manner before them.

"How do we even know it will challenge him? He's unnatural! The beast of the Rite could ignore him like a lump of plastic." Uvenk retorted.

"They know blood no matter what the womb. Your barking does not help your case." The shaman dismissed the whining Krogan.

Grunt chose that moment to speak up. "I'll speak for myself!"

The shaman moved close to Grunt, inspecting him, "This is the tank-bred? It is very lifelike. Smells correct as well. Your protests ring hollow, Uvenk."

"I don't care what this idiot has to say. Grunt has the right to be here," Shepard intervened.

"There's some fire and from an alien! Oh, the shame this heaps on those who whine like pups." The shaman taunted.

"If this must stand in ritual, I invoke a denial! My krantt stands against him! He has no one!" Uvenk replied.

"My patience is tested, but Uvenk invokes correctly. Grunt, who is your krantt? Your allies willing to kill and die on your behalf?" The shaman questioned him.

"Grunt will strengthen clan Urdnot. Name our target and it will die." Shepard replied without hesitation, confidence and determination in her eyes.

"Spoken well. Most aliens - and some Krogan," The shaman looked pointedly at Uvenk, "Do not understand our way. I believe this human does." He said in a pleased manner.

"Aliens don't know strength! My followers are true Krogan. Everything about Grunt is a lie . . . " Uvenk was cut off at that point.

Shepard had had enough and she was sick of this son-of-a-bitch's disrespect and stupidity. Shepard reared back and head butt the Krogan as hard as she could. Of course he was Krogan so it did little more than stun him a bit, not like when Wrex had and the pain had been evident in his eyes. Actually, it hurt Shepard more than it hurt Uvenk, but it had shut him up and greatly humiliated him once again.

"You . . . you dare?" Uvenk asked in disbelief.

The shaman gave out a bark of laughter, "I like this human! She understands!"

Uvenk shook off the shock and humiliation and spoke, "I withdraw my denial. This will be decided elsewhere." He pushed past Shepard and left with his krantt.

"You have provoked them. Reason enough for me to like you. They're your problem now." The shaman told them.

Shepard looked to Grunt beside her. The look in his eyes told her he was itching to kill something. Behind her Garrus stood ready for her orders, as usual. He gave her a small nod to let her know that he was ready when she was. _Garrus is as good of choice as any from the squad, probably better actually. We can read each other's minds out on the battle field. Yes, Garrus is definitely the right choice for this mission, _Shepard thought to herself quickly, before turning to the shaman. "We're ready, let's do this." Shepard told him.

"Excellent." The shaman spoke, a grin on his face.

* * *

They had killed their way through wild vareen, klixen, a thresher maw and Uvenk and his krantt. The bastard had shown up at the end of Grunt's Rite and tried to get Grunt to agree to be his tool in taking over the clans. Grunt had quickly shut the Krogan up by tackling him, before destroying his krantt and the pathetic Battlemaster. Grunt seemed to have had the time of his life. He was covered in klixen gore, one had exploded too close to him and he had been showered in blood and intestines. He didn't seem to care, actually all he had done was give a bloodthirsty roar and charged the next one. Shepard was also covered in gore but not as bad as Grunt. Garrus had some blood splattered across his armor but other than that he was clean. _Next time, I'm sniper! Garrus can be out in the open, getting showered by exploding bugs, _Shepard thought to herself moodily. Even though she was covered in carnage she had to admit she had fun, and from the sound of Garrus cheering the whole time through her com, she would say he had fun too. Now they were making their way back to camp Urdnot. Once the truck stopped, the group jumped out. As they made their way towards the shaman, they were greeted by murmurs of their success in the Rite and some even bowed or nodded their heads in respect.

The shaman welcomed them with open arms, "You have passed the Rite of Passage, earning the honor of clan and name. Many survive but it has been years since a thresher maw fell! Your name shall live in glory." Grunt bowed before the shaman as he spoke. "Grunt, you are now Urdnot. You may own property, join the army, and apply to serve under a battlemaster."

"Shepard is my battlemaster. She has no match." Shepard was honored by Grunt's devotion and confidence in her.

"Understood. Congratulations, Urdnot Grunt. Accept this token from Fortack. His weapons are the finest we have," The shaman finished.

"We should go." Shepard told him.

"May your foes be strong enough to keep you sharp," he bid them farewell.

* * *

The Kodiak dropped in the Cargo Bay, allowing for Shepard, Grunt and Garrus to make their way off the shuttle. The group was immediately greeted by half the squad. Jacob was shirtless sparing with an equally shirtless Zaeed, with Thane off to the side cleaning his gun near their ring. Jack had made a make shift target range and was practicing her biotic powers on them. Some of the other crew men were sitting around either watching the fight or taking bets on how fast Jack could take down the targets. It was late and everyone was off duty so they were making good use of their down time.

"Hey Commander, how did the mission go?" Ken called to her from the ring area. Everyone stopped what they were doing to hear her answer.

"Well I would like to introduce the newest member of clan Urdnot. Urdnot Grunt." Shepard put her hand on Grunts armor and gave him a side long smile.

"Alright!"

"Way to go Grunt!"

"Oh shit." Jack yelled with a smirk on her face.

"Congratulations, big guy!" Jacob called out from the ring.

"Way to go kid." Zaeed even joined in.

The group had made their way to the sparing ring where mostly everyone was sitting on cargo boxes around the ring.

"So, what you have to do to get him to be accepted? Looks like you had one hell of a time," Ken asked in his thick Scottish accent.

"Grunt had to go through a Rite of Passage. The ritual is to test and celebrate a knew Krogan coming into adulthood. Leave it to the Krogan to come up with a ritual that involves killing vareen, klixen and a thresher maw." Shepard laughed.

"What!" The group cried out in unison, all of them getting closer and filing around the group, eager to hear more.

"I'll leave it to Urdnot Grunt to regale you with the story of his Rite; all I want right now is a shower. I'll be back down in a few minutes." Shepard excused herself, leaving a smiling Grunt to retell the story. As she left she caught the eye of a certain drell assassin by the group. She smiled self-consciously; looking down as she ran her hand through her hair, aware of how she must look right now. _Damn you Grunt and your Rite! _Shepard lifted her eyes to look at him across the room once again, he inclined his head slightly and smiled back at her. Not his regular closed lipped, barley even there smile but a real one, showing off his teeth that were so different then her own individual ones. _He is so different from me, but in a strange way, it makes him so much more attractive, _she thought shaking her head as her smile grew. She was startled out of her thought when a big Turian arm came around her to rest on her shoulder, braking the moment between Thane and her. _Damn you too Garrus! _

"So, what are you doing?" Garrus whispered in her ear.

"What are you talking about?" Shepard asked turning her head towards him. She could have sworn she had seen Thane's face fall as soon as Garrus had put his arm around her, he looked disappointed and almost hurt. _No it has to be my imagination. I mean yes we had that moment back in the mess where I kind of hit on him and he didn't seem to mind, actually he seemed to go with it. I wonder . . . is it possible he might have an interest in me too? _Shepard found that she really liked that idea. _I must be crazy, didn't I learn the last time what happens when I get involved with crew members._ _Yeah, but Thane isn't Kaidan, not by a long shot, _her internal voices fought with each other.

"I'm talking about you and Krios, staring at each other like you want to jump one another." Garrus spoke knowingly. They had made it up to the elevator and Shepard pressed the button for the crew deck.

"I don't know what you're talking about Garrus." Shepard stood with her back straight and her hands clasped behind her back, refusing to look at Garrus.

"Oh really, so I must have imagined the longing looks you two were giving each other. Honestly Shepard, it looked like you guys were about to run to each other with your arms out stretched and make out right there in front of everyone." Garrus crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the elevator wall, laughing at Shepard's unwillingness to admit to what was going on.

"I think you have been watching one too many bad romance vids Garrus. Nothing is going on." Shepard stated, relaxing her poster and looked at Garrus hoping he would drop it.

"Nothing may be happening Commander, but it doesn't mean you don't want it to happen." Garrus said with a knowing look. The doors swished open on to the crew deck and Garrus stepped out, but not before turning and giving Shepard his last thought on the matter. "And judging by the way he couldn't take his eyes off of you, even before Ken drew attention to us, he feels the same way you do."

Shepard pressed the button for her cabin, "Goodbye Garrus." She said brusquely.

"Hey, I think you guys would make a cute couple, you could have cute mutant half drell, half human babies and live happily . . . " Garrus was cut off as the doors closed in his face.

Shepard couldn't help the laugh that came out; Garrus always knew how to make her laugh. _I wonder if he is right? No he can't be . . . can he? _Shepard walked through the elevator doors and into her rooms, hitting the buttons on her armor that would disconnect the plates so she could pull them off. Once she got her armor off she opened a panel that she threw her armor down. It would take her suit to the armory where it could be cleaned. Shepard then took off her sweaty cloths that she wore under her armor and opened the panel adjacent to the one that connected to the armory and threw her cloths down it, that would get to where all the laundry went. Shepard stepped into her bathroom and took a much needed shower. Once she got out she dried off and instead of wearing her usual Commander uniform or white and black shirt and pants, she pulled out a pair of dark blue jeans and a black tank top. She also pulled out here regular boy short underwear and black bra. She got dressed and moved back into the bathroom, applying her usual light make-up, black eyeliner and eye shadow. She brushed out her straight, now long hair, the locks now reaching the middle of her back. She then continued to look in the mirror, inspecting herself. To a human she knew she was very attractive, she was told so many times and had used her looks to her advantage on the streets and in the military against the idiots who thought she was only a pretty face. But she wondered what would a drell think? _Specifically, a drell assassin sitting in the cargo bay right now? _How had she come to this? I mean she didn't really know Thane that well or that long but despite that she found that she thought of him often and wanted him with her on every mission, but she knew she couldn't do that, she had to rotate the people or they would go crazy on the ship. Well the fighters would at least, Garrus, Thane, Jack, Grunt and Zaeed. Even Miranda and Jacob could get a little twitchy if they didn't get out here and there. Mordin, Tali and Samara were content to stay on the ship, Mordin and Tali were understandable, but she suspected Samara had just seen her share of killing and liked the break that being on a ship provided.

Shepard stepped away from the mirror and walked out her bathroom and out her room. She hit the button for the cargo bay, taking a deep breath as she did. She could take down a geth army, a specter and reaper and not even flinch, but when it came to Thane, she couldn't help be nervous due to their differences, not knowing if he would find a human like her attractive. _Just don't make a fool of yourself please. God give me strength. _

* * *

Thane was in a black mood. He didn't really have a reason to be, it's not as if he had any claim to Shepard. But it still affected him more than he liked to admit when he saw Garrus put his arm around her shoulder and whisper in her ear. He was so used to being in control of his emotions that this sudden rush of . . . what was this? Anger, sadness, jealousy? Bit of everything if he was being honest with himself, was a real shock for him. He couldn't remember a time in the past where he showed signs of jealousy. Suddenly, Thane went still and his eyes glossed over, he was stuck in solipsism.

_Irikah and I move through the crowed, people dancing and socializing around us. Irikah is stopped by a drell in front of her; he puts his arms around her waist and pulls her close. He is off balance and slurs his words, obviously drunk. _

"_Why don't you come and dance with me?" He asks her._

"_Get off me! I'm here with my fiancée!" She cries out in disgust, she pulls away from him and stands by my side. _

"_Come on, I could show you a batter time then this guy." He reaches for Irikah once more. I calmly grab his arm, spin him around and slam his head into the bar behind him. I am careful not to put too much strain on his arm, I don't wish to cause harm my intent is to scare._

_I lean close, "The lady said no. I would depart if you wish to leave with all body parts intact after this night." I advise him. _

_I let go, he leaves. I wrap my arm around Irikah's waist, we continue on our way to the table. _

Thane came out of his memory and stared at the sniper in his hands. When Irikah and him had encountered that drunken drell in the club he had been calm and controlled as usual. But when he had seen Garrus with his arm around Shepard all he could think of doing was breaking the Turian's arm and beating him with it. He had no idea why he felt this way when it came to Shepard, he barely knew the woman and yet she invoked feelings in him he wasn't even aware he was capable of feeling. He was feeling jealous of the men around her. He wanted to go on every mission with her just to be near her and protect her. He wanted to reach out and touch her every time she sat with him in Life Support. He was having problems meditating without thoughts of her running through his mind. The woman was driving him insane! He had loved Irikah with all he was, but their relationship had been doomed from the start. She had never accepted his line of work, there had been many fights and tears shed when he was called for a job and his work had been too dangerous in the first place. He should have known what would have happen, it was inevitable really.

Thane would always blame himself for what had happened. He would never forget his wife, he would always love her and never regret his choice in marrying her, but they should have never been together. She needed someone grounded and safe, he . . . well if there was ever a woman he should be with, it would have to be someone similar to himself, who lived a similar life as he lived._ A dangerous woman for my dangerous life, _he thought pensively.

Thane looked up as the doors swished open. In walked Shepard. He could only stare as she walked across the room to where the fighting ring was, most of the crew still remained around it; Jacob and Zaeed still sparing in the ring. She looked amazing in her normal clothing, her dark blue pants hugged the shape of her legs and backside perfectly and a black tank top that showed off the lightly tanned skin of her arms, the neckline dipping low enough to show off her long neck and the top of her chest. Her gold necklace that she never took off lay between her breasts. Her dark brown hair was now long enough to almost reach the middle of her back; it had been touching her shoulders when they had first met. Her green eyes shone with mirth as she gave the crew one of those smiles that Doctor Chakwas had described as 'lighting up the room'. He had to agree with her description.

"Oh yeah Massani! You got nothing on me!" Jacob shouted in victory, holding his hands in the air and doing a sort of jumping dance. Zaeed was on one knee holding his jaw.

"Alright kid, you win. Good fight." Zaeed told him as he walked out of the ring and to the table where he grabbed a bottle of water. "Your turn Commander, kick his ass." Zaeed jerked his head in the direction of Jacob, still in the ring.

Shepard gave out a laugh, "I don't think so Zaeed, wouldn't want to get blood on my clean cloths, now would I?" Shepard joked looking over at Jacob.

"I agree Commander; I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I caused you to bleed all over the place." Jacob smirked at her, while leaning on the ropes.

Shepard narrowed her eyes at the Cerberus operative but continued to smile, "Watch it Taylor."

Jacob laughed and turned towards Thane, "Hey Krios. Why don't you come up here? Show us what you got." Jacob called to him.

Thane knew what the man was doing. _He wants to try and impress Shepard. Fine, if the man wants a fight, I will oblige, _Thane thought, pleased with the image of the man on the ground sporting a broken nose.

Thane stood up fluidly, setting his sniper on the cargo box he had been sitting on. "Alright Mr. Taylor," Thane spoke smoothly, entered the ring, giving a sideways look at Shepard and the others. All of them looked excitedly at Jacob and himself, Shepard was leaning against one of the many crates the crew members were sitting on. She had an amused look on her face, but it was evident she was as eager to see what happened as much as the others.

"Kick his ass Krios!" Jack and Zaeed called from beside Shepard.

"Come on Jacob!" Kasumi called, having arrived before Shepard, along with Kelly and Tali, who had all been chatting with each other before the challenge had started.

"Come on Thane!" Kelly called giggling like a teenage girl.

"Both of you kick each other's asses!" Garrus joined in as he walked over to the group to stand next to Shepard. _He is a little too close to Shepard_, Thane thought, irritated with the Turian. Too bad for Jacob; because Thane was about to take out his anger on him.

Thane looked to Jacob across the ring, bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet. He was a skilled fighter from what Thane had witnessed from his fights with Zaeed. However, Thane was faster and stronger, do to his denser muscle structure then the human. One thing he had to watch was Jacob taking him to the ground, Thane could wrestle just fine but he was a better upright fighter and Jacob's wrestling skills exceeded his own.

"Sure you don't want to take that pretty leather jacket off Krios? Might be hard to get blood stains off of it," Jacob quipped. _Although he might be serious in trying to cause me to bleed, judging from the look in his eyes_, Thane thought.

"I'm sure my jacket will be fine Mr. Taylor, good thing you made sure to remove your clothing though." Thane taunted back.

"Alright, boys let's get this started, first one to seven wins." Shepard called out. "Jacob you ready?" Shepard looked to Jacob's corner.

"Yes, Commander," Jacob nodded never braking eye contact with Thane.

"Thane, you ready?" Shepard looked to Thane.

"I am ready Shepard." Thane called.

"Fight!" She yelled.


	6. The Fight

**Ok here is the fight! Hope you guys like this chapter, I got it done pretty quick because someone yelled at me for leaving you all with a cliff hanger last time. You know who you are. Please send me some feed back on what you think. Also, big thanks to my beta she was a tremendous help with this, like always. **

"Fight!" Shepard yelled.

Jacob came out of his corner, hands up around his face. Thane walked out from his own corner as calm as ever, hands relaxed at his side. Jacob took his first swing to find nothing but air. Thane had side stepped his jab to let out a quick one of his own that connected with the side of Jacob's head.

Jacob stumbled to his left, holding his head where Thane had hit him, glaring at the drell as he did so.

"Point!" Shepard called out with amusement clear on her face.

Thane had the faintest of smiles on his face.

Jacob shook himself off and stood straight. Thane and him circling each other for a few seconds, staring daggers at one another.

_If looks could kill, they would both be dead now, _Shepard thought.

Suddenly, without warning Thane kicked out towards Jacob's head but Jacob managed to block the kick with a well timed block. Thane's eyes narrowed to lethal slits, watching his opponent's every move. Like a snake, Jacob lashed out towards Thane's face, missing as his arm was caught in a vise grip. Thane spun forward gracefully, using Jacob's arm as leverage to place him where he himself had been standing. Quickly, Thane launched a roundhouse to Jacob's back, causing the man to tense, his body alerted to the move. He dropped into a crouch at the last second, sweeping his foot out trying to knock Thane's legs from beneath him. Thane jumped quickly, but miscalculated, not able to duck the uppercut that was coming his way. He grunted as he stumbled back a few steps, holding his tender jaw. His eyes turned cold and deadly as he watched the Cerberus operative.

_Jacob is faster than I assumed, _Thane thought as he mentally calculated his next moves.

"Point!" Kasumi cheered, giving Shepard a smug smile over her shoulder.

Shepard just shook her head at the thief and laughed. "They still have a long way to go Kasumi."

"Want to make a bet Shep?" Kasumi asked with a mischievous look.

"Sure. I bet a hundred credits that Krios kicks Taylor's ass," Shepard smirked

"Hey!" Jacob balked.

"You're on!" Kasumi shook hands with the Commander.

"I want in on this." Kelly cried. "Hundred credits on Thane!"

"I'll put my faith in Jacob, count me in, hundred on Jacob." Ken joined in.

"What's going on?" Miranda asked as she entered with a curious look on her face.

"Thane and Jacob are sparring and we are all taking bets on who will win." Shepard filled her in.

"Oh. Well in that case, I bet a hundred on Krios," Miranda smiled and sat down excitedly next to Kasumi, Tali and Kelly.

All of a sudden bets were called out everywhere, Tali offered to keep track. People were betting on how many points each would have, down to what move would end it. Thane and Jacob stared at the crowd waiting. They just wanted to get back to the fight.

_Looks like this just got a bit more interesting, _Thane thought. He regarded Shepard as the bets were placed. She stood with her arms loosely crossed over her chest, watching everyone shout at each other, with a small smile on her face and joy in her eyes that he never wanted to look away from. It was, intoxicating. Then, as if she could sense him staring, she looked up at him and her cheeks grew a pinkish color as she gave him an even wider smile. _I caused her to blush_. Thane knew this was a human reaction to embarrassment or feelings of being shy. Thane liked invoking such a response from her and seeing the color radiate across her face.

She nodded to him before interrupting everyone, "All right everyone. Let's watch the drell win me some money."

Thane nodded towards the Commander, standing up straight as he turned his attention back towards Jacob. _I will not fail her. _Thane got an idea just then, a small smile spread across his lips as he pictured what he hoped would be Shepard reaction. _Oh, Krios what is this woman doing to you? _His internal voice thought wickedly, before taking his jacket off and unfastening the snaps of his vest.

Shepard's eyes widened in shock, as did most of the women's in the small audience. _Oh my god!_ Is all Shepard could think, as Thane pulled his jacket and vest down his arms, throwing them over the side of the ring next to his gun. Not only was Thane phenomenally built, but the color and design of his scales where beautiful. The green of his scales reflected the light causing them to gleam as if he had just stepped out of a pool of water. The strips of black that began at the top of his head wound down his neck and past his shoulder blades to stop in points at the middle of his back. His arms had the same black scales wrapped down his arms, accentuating the definition of his muscles. He also had three thick black line designs starting at the side of his torso, moving across his rib cage and forming around his abs, disappearing in a V-shape past the line of his pants. Shepard couldn't help but want to see where the rest of those designs went. She was pulled from her thoughts and her gawking of Thane by a loud whistle coming from her right.

"Looking good Krios!" Jack yelled out at him from her spot next to Zaeed and Grunt.

"Woooohoooo!" Kelly had the biggest smile Maria had ever seen on her face. She looked like she wanted to jump the man.

"Not bad at all." Tali commented quietly to the group.

"All right, all right. Now that we all know the drell is pretty, let's see them bash each others face in!" Zaeed yelled over the catcalls.

Jacob looked irritated and ready to do exactly what Zaeed had said.

Thane didn't care; the look that he had seen on Shepard's face was worth getting his face smashed. _Not that Mr. Taylor is going to, but still._

"Alright you two, the score is one to one. First to make it to seven, wins. Ready?" Shepard received nods from both men. _"_Fight!"

* * *

Jacob was on the ground on all fours, panting heavily. Thane was breathing just as hard, but still on his feet. Thane had just delivered a four punch combination, three to the stomach and a left hook to the face, just after flipping Jacob over his shoulder, stopping Jacob from breaking his arm. Jacob was bleeding from a small cut over his left eyebrow and had some major bruising to the right side of his face that matched the bruising darkening his ribs. Thane wasn't doing any better. Jacob had split his right cheek open just under his eye, a small cut bled from an opening above his eye ridge as well and he was bleeding from the left corner of his mouth.

"Maybe we should call them off." Shepard turned towards Garrus, a frown on her face.

"Are you kidding? This is great!" Jack said with a sinister smile.

"They are both strong warriors, battlemaster, they will be fine." Grunt assured her. "They just seem to have a mutual feeling of dislike for each other, that's why they are trying to rip each other apart."

"Yeah, don't worry Shepard, Thane will be fine." Garrus smiled at her, but kept his voice low so no one could over hear.

"I'm worried for both of them Garrus." Shepard narrowed her eyes at the Turian.

"Yeah, but your concern is more directed towards Thane." Garrus retorted with a look on his face that dared her to deny it.

"_Chinga tu madra" _Shepard grumbled under her breath in a thick accent, looking back to the fight. Thane had just slipped past Jacob's punch and kicked the an hard in the stomach that sent him flying. Jacob was able to role to his feet, so it didn't count as a point.

"I would never want to do that with my mother, thank you Shepard." Garrus chuckled, shaking his head at the Commander.

"You still have your translator programmed for Spanish." Shepard smiled, never taking her eyes off the fight.

"Yeah. Doesn't matter, not like that saying even picks up on the translator." Garrus laughed. "I just remember you using it all the time and you finally telling me what it means, I just didn't forget it. But yes, I still have the Spanish programmed to the translator. Didn't see why I shouldn't have it, just in case I ever met a crazy human again who speaks the language and drags me around the galaxy to my possible painful demise." Garrus told her acting nonchalantly.

"You will never meet another person like me Garrus Vakarian, I guarantee you." Shepard grinned up at him.

"No. I imagine not." Garrus smiled back.

"Point!" Kelly called.

Thane had just tagged Jacob with a superman punch to the face; Jacob could possibly have a broken nose now.

"Ok it's tied, next point wins." Kasumi called.

"Come on Thane!" Shepard smiled and clapped her hands together.

Thane looked to her and felt strength return to his weary body. _Amonkira guide me. _

Jacob swung with his left, Thane leaning out of his reach. Jacob swung with his right, Thane ducked and attempted to catch him with a rib cracking hook to the body. Jacob blocked it and sent a downward punch towards the drell's head. Thane rolled to the side to one of the posts in order to avoid the blow. The Cerberus operative attempted to capitalize by sending a sidekick to Thane's ribs, which he was able to deflect, catching the other man's leg and sending a punch to his temple. Jacob shook it off, freeing his leg and immediately rushing Thane. The human tackled the drell to the ground and attempted to wrestle Thane into submission. Just when Jacob thought he had Thane, the assassin slipped his hold and turned him onto his back and dealt out three swift punches to the head. _Bam, Bam, Bam. _And just like that, it was over. Thane stumbled to his feet, people cheering and groaning behind him. He was trying to catch his breath. The fight had taken a half an hour and Thane was now trying to bring his breathing back down. The man looked to Jacob, who was on the floor still catching his own breath and holding his bleeding nose.

He looked to Thane as well, "Ok. You win. Happy?" He asked through his cupped hands, causing his voice to become muffled.

Thane held out his hand for the man. As he pulled Jacob up he locked eyes with him, keeping a hold of his hand, "Yes, I am." Thane let go and Jacob looked down to the floor. "If it helps, Mr. Taylor, I'm sure Ms. Goto would be more than happy to . . . comfort you." Thane nodded his head towards Kasumi.

"Really?" Jacob asked him in disbelief.

"Yes." Thane reassured him.

"Thanks, and good fight Krios." Jacob shook Thane's hand, but as he moved to turn away, he was stopped by Thane griping his hand once again.

"I hope we have come to an _understanding _concerning Shepard." Thane narrowed his eyes at him with a deadly serious expression that said, 'I will kill you if you come near her with more than friendship on your mind'.

"Yeah, don't worry. She isn't interested in me anyways. You get the prize." Jacob told him.

"She is not a prize to be won Jacob. If she wishes to be more than what we are, I would be more than willing to pursue a relationship with her. But I would never degrade her by calling her a 'prize'. This was meant so you would stop with your hostility towards me and your futile attempts to win Shepard over. If she had been interested in you, I would have never agreed to fight you." Thane finished as he let Jacob's hand go and walked off to retrieve his cloths and gun.

Thane was able to shrug his vest back on, but left his jacket off. His body was hurting and he was still hot from the fight.

"Looks like you just won me a grip of money Krios." Thane heard from behind him.

He turned, the same stoic look he always wore on his face, "You can thank me by carrying my gun up to my room for me."

"Sure. Come on champ." Shepard grabbed his sniper from the top of the cargo box.

_Wow this thing is heavy. Why is his so much heavier than mine? _

They made their way to the elevator, bidding everyone good night. Shepard had checked to see if Jacob was ok and gave him a kiss on the cheek, right before telling him she told him Thane would kick his ass. That had caused everyone to laugh, even Jacob.

The elevator doors opened onto the crew deck and the pair walked over to Life Support. The doors swished open and Shepard placed Thane's sniper into his glass shelf for him.

"Thank you Shepard" Thane told her as he gingerly lowered himself onto his cot.

"No problem, are you sure your ok? I could get Doctor Chakwas?" Shepard leaned against the table in front of him, her hands on either side of her.

"No, I will not require medical attention. Thank you. I have sustained worse injuries than this and have been able to patch myself up just fine." Thane pulled out some water, some antiseptic and a rag from the bag under his cot.

"Here at least let me help you." Shepard took the water and cloth and sat down in the chair in front of him. She poured some water on part of the cloth and leaned over slightly to clean the cut on his cheek.

Thane could only stare at her as she stood so close and gently cleaned his wound. He could smell her clean sent. _Like rain, _he remembered. She was so close he could feel the heat from her body, he could see each freckle and see the dim glow of the few scares left from the surgery Cerberus had preformed on her.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly, finishing cleaning the wound. She picked up the antiseptic. "You and Jacob were going at it pretty hard." Shepard dabbed same of the clear liquid onto the cloth and pressed it to his cut.

Thane didn't even flinch from the sting of the fluid, "I'm fine Shepard," he answered as softly as she. His eyes darker than normal, focused solely on her. She felt a shiver of awareness slide down her spine; they were so close.

"Was perfecting hand-to-hand combat part of your training, or something you chose to learn independently?" Shepard asked, cleaning another cut above his eye ride, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"It was part of my training. I know, it is not common to think of an assassin as an expert of close range fighting, but it is something the hanar felt I should learn. It is a skill that has saved my life many times." Thane answered , his eyes never leaving the woman in front of him.

"I see." Shepard moved the cloth to his lip. Dry blood still lingered on them and his chin. She started at the base of his jaw and moved upwards, over his chin and to his lip, she watched her hand as it traveled upwards, very aware of him watching her as well. As she finished, her finger tip slipped from the cloth allowing him to feel her warm skin on his. It was his undoing.

"There. Finished." Shepard went to move her hand away, but Thane quickly reached out and caught her around her wrist.

Shepard look up at him in shock, swallowing nervously, her body tingled as she watched his eyes heat up. Thane could see her pupils dilate. She could feel the warm silky scales of his palm on her wrist, her breathing hitched in her throat.

"Thane?" She managed to whisper, barely enough for him to hear her, her sweet breath fanning his face, he wanted to lean forward and see if she tasted how she smelt.

"Siha." He breathed.

Shepard could only stare, the look in his eyes so intense and not understanding what he had just said. Thane noticed the flushing of her skin, the scent of her becoming stronger, her full lips parted in the most alluring way, her eyes gleaming with want.

_I can't take this anymore, _was Thane's last thought before capturing her lips with his own.

Shepard closed her eyes and responded to his kiss immediately. The kiss was soft and sweet, both of them just happy they didn't have to hide their feelings for each other anymore. Thane released her wrist that was still in his grasp and brought it up to cup her cheek, the other he buried in her soft brown hair. Shepard wrapped both her hands around his neck, rubbing his scales with her finger tips. Slowly, they pulled apart from one another, Shepard rested her head against Thane's as they looked at each other. What both saw was pure desire for the other, and something deeper

_God, I have never felt this way before, _Shepard thought blissfully.

Without warning, Shepard crushed her mouth to Thane's and the assassin responded with equal enthusiasm. Shepard climbed into his lap, straddling him as Thane moved his hand from her cheek to her lower back. Shepard wrapped her arms around him as Thane slid his tongue into her mouth, tasting the sweetness of it. Shepard glided her own tongue across his, the taste was spicy but sweet at the same time, kind of like cinnamon candy. Thane's hands roamed her body, traveling under her shirt to feel the smoothness of her back, down her hips to draw patters with his finger tips on her thighs. It sent wonderful chills down Maria's body. Unfortunately, they both had to come up for air and brake the kiss.

Shepard pulled back slightly, her hands on either side of Thane's face. "That was . . . amazing." Shepard uttered breathlessly as a light laugh escaped through her lips, a large smile braking out across her face.

"I agree." Thane answered, not able to keep the smile from his own face, his lips still grazing her own.

"You know this changes things a bit right?" Shepard asked, running the pad of her thumb across his cheek, making sure she didn't hit his cut.

"I hope so." Thane whispered, leaning forward and kissing her lightly on the lips.

"Oh, Mr. Krios. What have you done to me." Shepard moaned into his neck.

"Nothing you haven't already done to me." Thane replayed with a crooked smile across his face. He had never dared to hope to ever find another who would awaken him from his battle sleep once more, but Arashu had chosen to bless him again, for reasons he could not fathom. He had another Siha in his life.


	7. Sins of the Father Pt1

**Sorry this took so long to get up, I have been busy taking care of my sick parents. I was going to make it longer and add Thane's loyalty mission but I chose to save it for the next chapter, which will be up tomorrow. For those who want to know what the Spanish means: **_¿Cuánto tiempo has estado escuchando?_" **means How long have you been listening. **_pendejo _**is similar to idiot. **_Prisa _**means hurry. **_Dios mio _**means oh my god. **_Chinga _**means fuck. **_Chinga tu madra _**means fuck your mother. **_Esto duele _**means this hurts. All of these will be in this chapter just so you know what Shepard is say/yelling. **

Shepard walked briskly through the hallway leading to the cargo hold, planing to meet with Mordin and Jack. Today they were going after Mordin's former assistant down on Tuchanka.

"You two ready to go?" Shepard pulled on her dark red gloves as she reached the waiting pair, looking to Mordin and Jack as they stood in front of the Kodiak.

"Ready, Shepard," Mordin gave her a sharp nod before getting in the vehicle.

"Let's go kill something." Jack gave her an evil grin, hopping in after Mordin. Shepard rolled her eyes, a small smirk on her face. The biotic was crazy and ruthless, but Maria had a soft spot for her.

As Shepard reached for the handle on the side of the door to pull herself up, a strange feeling as if someone was watching her crept over her. Shepard turned around sharply, searching the windows. Standing in the hallway in front of the elevator, looking down at her, was Thane. _He actually came down_. Shepard's lips broke out into a smile, as she nodded her head to him. Thane gave one of his deep bows in return.

"Hey! Shepard what's taking so long?" Jack leaned out, looking down at the Commander confusingly.

Shepard turned her attention up to Jack, "Sorry. I . . . I thought I saw something." She muttered, hoping she wasn't blushing.

Jack quirked an eyebrow at Maria, then looked up at the spot that Shepard had been looking.

_Shit! _Shepard thought. _She will ask why Thane was there_. She wasn't ashamed of her feelings for him, far from it, but she wasn't exactly sure what their relationship was yet and she didn't need Jack spreading rumors around the ship.

"Well I don't see shit, come on Shepard." Jack returned to her seat, waiting for the Commander.

Shepard looked back to the window, no Thane. Shepard shook her head in amusement. _Sneaky assassin bastard,_ Shepard thought with a quirk of her lips. Maria quickly climbed into the Kodiak, sitting herself next to Jack. The Commander instructed the pilot to take off, before resting her head back in her seat, her mind wondering back to last night.

"_I wish to accompany you on the next mission," Thane requeste, holding the woman in the crook of his arm as they sat on his cot, their backs leaning against the wall._

_Shepard traced the patter of the scales on his hand as she spoke. "Well, I was going to bring you along actually."_

"_Really?" Thane looked down at her in his arms. _

"_Yes." Shepard looked up at him seriously. Then a slow smile made its way across her lips. "That is, before Jacob and you beat the hell out of each other." She informed him, turning back to her previous activity of tracing his scales. _

"_I am perfectly capable of fighting," Thane replied sharply, glaring at the top of her head. _

_Shepard stood suddenly, turning fully towards him, her arms crossed over her chest. She always resorted to her thug look when she was about to convince someone to do what she wanted, an old habit of hers. "I won't risk your health Thane. You don't need to be running into a fight after the one you just had!" Shepard narrowed her eyes at the assassin. "Don't think you are as slick as you think you are Mr. Krios, I saw the body shot that Jacob got you with. You probably have bruised ribs; you're just too stubborn to go to the med bay for pain killers. That's why you needed me to carry the sniper for you." She finished pointedly. _

_Thane looked up at her, listening to her calling him out on his bluff. She was right of course, he knew Mr. Taylor had injured him and Thane could barely feel the left side of his face, his scales growing darker from the bruising on his face. His knuckles and his sides were probably completely dark green and black by now. Truthfully, Thane wasn't feeling up too much of anything, but he wanted to be there for the Commander when she went out on her next mission. But Shepard was right, he should take it easy, he would be more of a liability than an asset. _

_Thane stood from the cot, standing a full head taller than Shepard. The little light that remained in the room glinted off the scales of his arms and cast shadows across his face, causing him to look more intimidating. Shepard found him even more attractive. Yes, she did have a thing for bad boys._

_Thane just stared at her, same unreadable expression on his face. The man's almost black eyes looked her up and down, before meeting her own bright green eyes once again. Affection shone through his orbs, he was touched by her concern for him. Soon, desire took over and his eyes grew heated once more. **Well, maybe there is one thing I am feeling up to**, he thought, before cupping Maria's head and leaning down to kiss her slowly and deeply. _

_Shepard's eyes slid closed as she returned the kiss, laying her hands flat on his exposed chest. Soon the kiss grew more heated as Thane's hand's slid down her body, picking the Commander up easily from her ass and setting her on the table, stepping between her legs as she wrapped them around his slim waist. Shepard broke the kiss in order to trail her lips down his jaw to the red ridges around his neck. Thane's eyes grew large, before closing in ecstasy as she licked and kissed the sensitive area. Thane could feel himself growing very uncomfortable in his pants with every kiss and knew he needed to stop this before he did something that they should discuss when they had clearer minds. **It has been so long**. _

"_Shepard. Stop!" Thane choked out. Maria's hands were running over his chest, adding to the pleasure he was receiving from her tongue lapping at his neck, causing him to have trouble concentrating. _

_Shepard stopped as he asked, looking up at him with a knowing smile. Thane noticed the glossed over quality of her eyes, her pupils almost completely taking over the green of her irises. _

"_Having a problem?" Shepard teased. _

_A rumble built in Thane's chest as he growled at the small woman in his arms, his eyes narrowing at her, but the small smile on his face betrayed his true feelings. "You are a horrible individual." He used her own saying against her, the one he often heard her direct towards Garrus and Tali. _

_Shepard shook her head and chuckled, swaying a bit. Everything was beginning to take on a hazy quality and seemed to have a slight glow around it. _

"_Shepard, are you ok?" Thane asked, concern coloring his voice._

"_Yeah. I'm guessing there are some side effects from kissing you," Shepard told him calmly, not worried at all. _

_Thane pulled back in horror. "What! Do you need to be taken to Doctor Chakwas?" He grabbed her off the table, standing her up in front of him, worry written on his face as he examined her closely. _

"_Thane calm down, it's not uncommon to have side effects when two species come in contact with each other. If I was in danger we would have known by now. I'm good really, but I should probably go, things are looking like a dream sequence right now and I need to be ready for tomorrow." Shepard stepped closer to him, laying her hands over his heart and standing on her tip toes to kiss his lips. At first, Thane did not respond, not convinced that she shouldn't go to the doctor. However, as she began to nip at his bottom lip with her teeth, he relented, returning her kiss properly; his arms coming around her waist to feel the exposed skin there. _

_Thane walked Shepard to the elevator as she exited his rooms, stopping her before she could enter them, "Are you certain I can't join Mordin and you on the mission tomorrow?" He had to try and persuade her one last time to allow him to accompany her. _

_Shepard laughed at his persistence, "No Thane, we will be fine. I'm taking Jack with us. She needs to kill something before she takes out her frustration on the crew."_

"_As you wish," Thane bowed his head, the defeated look in his eyes would have been so subtle months ago that Shepard would have never caught it, but now it was as evident as any normal person's expression. _

_Shepard stepped forward and kissed the black design in the middle of his forehead, attempting to comfort him, "Goodnight Thane."_

_Thane leaned over and kissed the right side of her neck, sending shivers down Maria's spine. _

"_Goodnight, Shepard." Thane whispered in her ear, his breath hot on her neck._

_Thane stepped back, "But I will be down near the windows tomorrow, to see you off." He informed her, before allowing the doors to close, cutting off any response she would give. _

Shepard came out of her memory when the shuttle jolted to a stop. She stood and walked out of the Kodiak, her Commander's mask in place, a look that drew the attention of any species and told them all she was not to be fucked with.

* * *

"Holly shit! Fuck me . . . ahh . . . Fuck!"

Thane was pulled from his meditation, the cries coming from the hallway drifting away toward the med bay. _Was that Shepard?_

"_Dios mio! Chinga el Krogen! Esto duele!" _

_Yes that was Shepard. _The sound of her native language echoed through the ship as she screamed. Sometime when she spoke it, it sounded so beautiful and it flowed as it rolling off her tongue, but other times when she was angry it could sound intimidating and harsh. Like at that moment_. _Thane walked quickly out of his rooms, turning the corner to be greeted with the sight of Shepard being dragged between both Mordin and Jack, a piece of her armor missing from the length of her torso down to her hip . Blood covered a wound where the armor had been. _Were those teeth marks? _

"What the hell happened?" Garrus, walked with purpose out of his rooms and pushed past crew men to get to Shepard.

"One of the fucking Krogen let his vareen loose on Shepard, Urz attacked the thing but not before it took a bite out of Shepard. She still managed to charge the Krogen and kill him before going down, tough ass bitch." Jack explained while kicking the pad on the medical bay door. Garrus rushed in, followed by Tali, who had heard the screams from engineering, Thane followed right behind her.

"I already have a bed set up, set her down and take her armor off Tali. Mordin I need you to find the anti-venom for vareen bites, over there. Jack I'm going to need you to hold Shepard down as I inject her with the anti-venom, you too Tail, she is going to move quite a bit, she always does. Garrus, Thane you two just stand back." Everyone went about their assigned jobs quickly. Doctor Chakwas readied the medi gel, syringe, and bandages she would need for Shepard. Tali was able to strip Shepard down to her sports bra and boy shorts without causing her too much pain, Mordin was preparing the syringe with the anti-venom. _That is going to hurt_, Thane thought, the needle was huge.

"Alright, Tali, Jack, are you ready?" the doctor asked the two women on either side of Shepard. Both had a hold of her legs and arms. They both nodded. "Shepard I'm going to give you the shot now ok." Chakwas tried to speak soothingly but there was no helping the Commander, she was in a considerable amount of pain.

"_Prisa!" _Shepard moaned through gritted teeth.

"Alright, hold her still." Chakwas instructed.

The doctor stuck the needle in Shepard's side. An ear splitting scream reverberated off the walls and Shepard tensed and arched her back off the bed just to be pushed down by Tali and Jack.

Chakwas took the needle out; Shepard was already starting to relax as the anti-venom pumped through her system, helping sooth the pain. Chakwas retrieved the medi gel and bandages from the medical table. "Alright Shepard I'm going to have to turn off the cover up, it's interfering with the wound, I can't see all the marks." Chakwas pushed a few buttons on Shepard's omini tool and a rippling effect came over her body before exposing her tattoos.

When the Commander had spoken about her tattoos to any of the crew, they had all assumed that there would only be a couple hidden by her cloths, but what Jack and Thane were not expecting was the amount of art work Shepard actually had on her body. Tali, Garrus, Mordin and Chakwas were not shocked; they had already seen all of Shepard's tattoos. Mordin had to perform examinations of all the crew, Garrus and Tali had asked to see them back on the old Normandy and Chakwas had treated Shepard's injuries enough times to know what the Commander was hiding.

"Holy shit Shepard, that's some kick ass laser work. Didn't think you had that much ink" Jack commented, impressed by the art work.

"I like tattoos." Shepard breathed out, her left arm covering her eyes so Chakwas could treat the wound on her side.

The rest of the treatment went smoothly, Chakwas applied the medi gel, thankfully the bite hadn't gone too deep so the medi gel was able to close the bite cleanly, showing off the tattoo of the roses and swirl design that ran from just under her left breast all the way down her rib cage to curve around to the bottom of her stomach. The bandages were securely wrapped around her waist in order to keep the area clean for a few hours. The pain had been coming from the poison that the vareen injected into her, and due to the anti-veno, the pain was rapidly receding.

Maria was sitting up in the medical bed now, looking around exhaustedly at the group around her.

"Thanks, for dragging my ass back here, Mordin. Jack. Also, thanks for helping Doctor Chakwas." She gave them all a tired smile.

"Thank you Shepard, with your help with Maelon. Have to get back to lab. Glad you are stable now." Mordin walked out of the med bay.

"Ok Shepard let me get a look at that art work." Jack demanded walking closer to her and inspecting every inch of exposed skin.

Shepard rolled her eyes and sat back, letting Jack look at her ink. "I see you looking too Thane, it's ok you can take a look." Shepard didn't even look in his direction but she knew he wanted to see. Must have been a shocker to see how many she had. _Wonder if he finds this unattractive? _Shepard thought in a moment of self-consciousness. _I hope not, I mean it's not like I find his designs unattractive, quite the opposite actually._

Thane stood still for a second, before giving into his curiosity and stepping up to the Commander's bed.

Thane stared at all the art that decorated the woman's body. She had the N7 symbol on her right bicep, on her right forearm there was the same symbol as the one she wore around her neck, however this one was much more intricate than the one she wore. _A cross_, she had called it. He needed to ask later what exactly it represented. High up, on both her thighs there was identical gun holsters, two pistols sat in the holsters. On her left ankle there were colorful feathers with a string of beads on one side. Her left bicep was taken over by two skulls with colorful patters decorating their faces; both had hair and eyes. _Were those made to look like people? _He questioned in his mind. The next tattoo was on the back of her forearm, it was writing that he could not read; something she would have to translate for him later. The last that he saw were two on her hips, which peaked out of the top of her shorts. If Thane had to guess, the tattooed objects looked like round hand blades.

"Ten. That is a lot." Thane finally spoke.

"That's what I said." Tali laughed from her seat next to Chakwas and Garrus.

"I like them. I think you should just leave them exposed Shepard, this isn't the Alliance." Garrus commented.

"Yeah, your right. I always hated to keep them covered." Shepard admitted, twisting her arms about, looking down at the designs.

"Wait. It's not just ten. She has twelve." Jack moved the hair back from the right side of her neck, revealing a design that he had no idea what it could be.

"What is that?" Jack asked.

"It's called a chi-rho, it's the Roman monogram of Christ." Shepard explained. "They painted it on their shields when they went into battle. It's something my squad and I had gotten together during N7 training. Also, when we graduated we all got the N7 tattoos on our arm."

"That is only eleven, you said twelve Jack." Thane was looking over Shepard trying to find the twelfth.

"Show him." Jack smirked at her.

Shepard rolled her eyes and stood up from the bed, she turned her back to them so they could see her back. From what Jack and Thane could see past her bra and bandages, she had red and black wings that ran the span of her back. The dark black started at her shoulders and descended down her back, fading into a deep red color. To Thane the black and red seemed to constantly shift back and forth and become lighter and darker as he stared. His modified eyes were not able to pick the colors up properly.

"That is my favorite." Chakwas pointed to Shepard's back

"Alright, alright, you have seen them all. Are we done here, can I put some clothes on."

Thane suddenly became very aware of the lack of cloths she was wearing and couldn't help but take in her body. _Stop staring, it is not polite. Turn away!_ Thane's inner voice screamed at him. Thane turned his back to the Commander, masking the sudden movment as him turning to stand with Chakwas, Tali and Garrus. He did not miss the smirk that Shepard gave him as he turned from her.

"Yeah, glad I could help Shepard. Next time just let me kill the son-of-a-bitch after threatening you. And I agree with Garrus, you should keep them uncovered" Jack comented while smiling, before walked out of the room.

"I should go too Shepard, glad you're ok." Tali spoke as a farewell, before leaving for engineering.

"I'll be leaving too Shepard, please next time try not to get eaten." Garrus spoke with sarcasm, leaving through the doors as well.

"I should leave as well, but Shepard. I was hoping to speak to you; there is something I need to discuss." Thane informed her without really looking at her.

_So, he checks my tattoos out for ten minutes and now he can't look at me. I didn't know drell were so modest, or maybe he is just being a gentleman. That's sweet. _Shepard nodded her head to him, "I'll be right there."

Thane gave a small bow to the doctor before walking out.

"He is sweet, and very attractive. I can see why you like him." Chakwas commented to Shepard.

"How is it you seem to know everything, you even knew about Kaidan and me before I did." Shepard asked her while dressing into a black t-shirt and black sweats.

"When you get to be as old as I am you notice things young people over look, stuff that is usually right in front of them." Chakwas sat in her chair facing her monitor as Shepard walked up to her. "He cares for you just as much you care for him, you know."

Shepard smiled, "I hope so doc. Thanks again for getting me patched up, when can I remove the bandages? I need a shower."

"In about an hour." Chakwas told her.

"Thanks, I'll see you later." Shepard waved as she walked out the door and down to life support.

* * *

How was he going to explain this to her? He was not proud of the things he was about to tell her, but he needed her help. _No, I want her help_, he corrected. She had been kind to him, interested in his past, his beliefs and even is culture. Even the knowledge that he had been trained to kill at the age of six had displeased her greatly, and she had not held back in sharing her opinion. _The same response Irikah had._ Thane closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _I can do this_. He hoped that he wasn't about to ruin whatever they had started.

Thane heard the doors swish open; he turned from his spot in front of the window to face her. Thane prayed to his gods that she wouldn't hate him after this, she was the only friend he had made in many years and they had just started to become more. He very much enjoyed their talks together and the kisses they had shared the other night, he would miss them if she chose to not continue their developing relationship. _I do not want to be without her, _he thought before he even realized what he was telling himself. _What is this woman doing to me? _He always had control over everything about himself, including his thoughts, now whether or not he was around the Commander his thoughts wondered and filled with only her. Thane shook his head, _stop acting like an adolescent damn it, you are the best assassin in the galaxy but you can't ask a simple human for help, a friend no less_. Thane stared at the Commander as she looked at him expectantly, but expression radiated patience as well. _It's because you are now more than just a friend, you are afraid of ruining things just like you did with Irikah and Kolyat, _the voice in his head told him. Thane looked down and turned from Shepard in shame, _maybe this was a bad idea. _

Shepard stepped forward, a look of confusion and concern on her face that Thane couldn't see. "Thane, is there something wrong?" She questioned lightly.

"Yes, but now that you are here though . . . it seems more difficult to talk about." He managed to get out.

"I have time. Take it at your own pace." Shepard instructed him soothingly.

"Thank you, I fear that I have already done that for too long." Thane commented more to himself. He suddenly walked over to the gun case, not able to stay still as his worries ate away at him. Maria had observed that when Thane was under any kind of stress or uncomfortable with a situation, he moved frequently, unable to stand still. She had first witness this action when they had recruited him, and now after being around him so long, Shepard had picked up on the constant movement as a sign of discomfort. Thane was able to mask his tail by intimidation or a stoic surface. "I had a family once. I still have a son. His name is Kolyat. I haven't seen him for a very long time." Thane revealed, clasping his hands behind his back in an attempt at controlling himself.

Shepard walked to his side. That had not been what she had expected. Thane faced her as she spoke, "You've never mentioned this before. How come now?" Shepard asked, her brows crinkled softly in confusion, her eyes clouded with concern.

"When my wife departed from her body, I . . . attended to that issue. I left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles. I have not seen or talked to him since." Thane confessed, turning his eyes away in shame.

"That's not the choice I expected. Why didn't you raise him yourself?" She questioned, her voice remaining light and empty of judgment.

"My body is blessed with the skills to take life. The hanar honed them in me. I have few others. I didn't want that life for Kolyat. I hoped that he would find his own way, if he hated me, so be it. He would not have shared the same path of sin." Thane turned his body completely towards her, his hands falling to his side, no longer able to keep them unmoving. "I used my contacts to trace Kolyat. He has become . . . disconnected. He does what his body wills him." Thane explained to her.

"Where has Kolyat's body willed him?" Shepard asked.

"I don't know his reasons, but he has gone to the Citadel. He has taken a job as a hit man. I would like your help to stop him. He is - This is not a path he should walk." Thane's hand's balled into fists as his eyes downcast.

Maria had to take this all in. She would of course help him with anything he asked of her, she would do it for anyone on the crew, but she didn't understand why he wanted her help, he had a long list of contacts she was sure. "Thane I don't have your contacts and I don't have your tracking skills. Why do you need my help with this?" Shepard spoke softly, seeing the fragile state he seemed to be in. It was strange to see him so distraught.

"I don't need your help. I want it. The last time I saw my son . . . "Thane's eyes became distant as he slipped into past memories. "_They wrap her body in sea-vines weighted down with stones. He tries to pull from me. Calls for her. The hanar lift her off the platform. They sing like bells, 'The fire has gone to be kindled anew.' He begs them to not take her away. They let her body slide into the water. He hits me, 'Don't let them. Stop them. Why weren't you -?' It rains, it always rains on Kahje. Warm water pours down his face."_ Thane finished his memory in a haunted and broken voice.

_God damn it. _Maria turned her head way from him in regret, "I didn't mean for you to relive that."

"Perfect memory, it is sometimes a burden." Thane said. It was not the first time he had to relive that memory unwillingly.

"I'll get us to the Citadel as soon as possible; Joker is already on rout to Pragia. As soon as we are finish with Jack's mission we will go straight to the Citadel." Shepard promised him.

"Thank you Shepard" Thane bowed to her.

They stared at one another, not knowing what to say or do.

"I'll leave you alone Thane, but just let me know if you need me." Shepard looked at him with concern in her eyes, before turning for the door.

"Wait!" Thane's hand flew out to stop her, holding her arm.

Shepard turned her head towards him, her face neutral to his outburst.

"I . . . I hope that-." Thane hung his head, he was having a hard time getting what he wanted to say out. _Come on Thane, it's not that hard. She didn't runaway screaming what a horrible person you are or throw you off her ship, she is going to help you and even offered to be there if you needed her._ _But she doesn't know the whole story, of why Irikah was killed and how he hadn't just abandoned his son, he had abandoned his wife as well. _

Shepard look at the assassin in front of her, one of the most feared and dangerous men she had ever met, and he was struggling to speak to her. Shepard knew what he was trying to say, he was hoping she didn't think less of him for abandoning his son and hoped that he hadn't ruined things between them. Shepard stepped closer to him, laying her hand against his cheek, forcing him to look at her. She then leaned into him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Does that answer your question?" She asked.

"But you don't know. You do not understand. I didn't only abandon my son but Irikah as well; it is because of me that she is dead." Thane pulled away from her and turned toward the metal table, setting both his hands flat on the surface, his whole body tense.

Shepard laid her hand on his back, "Thane, tell me what happened."

For the next few minutes Thane told her everything. About the last time he had talked to his son, how he asked him to dance crazy; slipping into memory once again. How he abandoned them by doing his job, killing across the galaxy, how his wife told everyone he was away on business. Then finally, he told her about the batarian slavers who had paid the Shadow Broker to find him, how instead of coming for him, they came after his wife. He explained how after he left Kolyat in the care of his aunts and uncles he hunted her murders down and killed them, slowly.

Shepard listened to his confession, no emotion playing on her face. When he stopped, she didn't know what to say but she knew what she thought and she knew what she still felt. She grabbed his arm, turning him so he would have to face her, her arms snaked around his stomach and held him close.

"Why?" Thane breathed into her hair.

Shepard pulled back so she could look him in the eyes, "Because nothing has changed, you are still the good man I have come to care for. None of that was your fault, you did what you thought you could for your family and unfortunately it was a dangerous job and terrible people came after the person you loved. That's not your fault Thane and if I had been you I would have done the same thing to all of them. I don't think you should have left Kolyat but you did and that can't be changed, but you're going to be there for him now and that's all you can do at this point. Some parents leave their children and never look back, but you do care for your son and only wanted a better life for him. Your life is not the life for a child and sadly it's the only life you know how to live, that's not your fault either. But there is something I want to know."

"Ask." Thane whispered.

"Do you plan on just rescuing your son and leaving again?" Shepard looked serious.

"No, I had been looking for Kolyat to possibly reconnect with him. This mission - I have been thinking about my life and how for the past ten years I have been trying to redeem myself. Abandoning Kolyat was one of the worst mistakes I ever made and I wanted to see and speak to my son before I lost the chance to do so forever. So no Shepard, I plan to speak with my son for as long as I am able to, if he wishes it." Thane told her.

Shepard smiled up at him, "Told you, you're a good man." She leaned up and kissed the spot on his forehead.

"Thank you Shepard. I had been worried you would turn from me, once you knew of my sins to my family." Thane admitte.

"I will always be here for you Thane, I am your friend." Shepard paused. "Well probably more than that now, but I'm not going to start calling you my boyfriend, it doesn't suit you"

Thane let out a small laugh, "No, I can't say it does."

Shepard's smile grew bigger. They looked at each other; Thane slowly lowered his head to her lips.

"Hey Commander." Joker's voice filled the room.

"God damn it_, _fucking_ pendejo._" Maria grumbled in a thick accent. "What!"

"Sorry to break up the moment, but Miranda is looking for you; she wants to speak to you in the CIC." Joker sounded amused.

"Fucking Joker_, ¿Cuánto tiempo has estado escuchando?_" Shepard broke away from Thane and was now speaking very fast Spanish to Joker.

"Long enough to know that Thane isn't suited for the word boyfriend." Joker teased before cutting off the connection.

"I'm going to shoot him." Shepard gritted her teeth angrily.

Thane chuckled and brought her close to him again, "You need to go Shepard, I will be here meditating if you need me." Thane kissed her neck, just like he had done last night.

"I'll talk to you later." Shepard smiled before walking out.

**Hope you liked this chapter. Please review I like to hear people's ideas on the story. Thanks everyone who has added this to favorite and alert. **


	8. Sins of the Father Pt2

**Ok this chapter was a bitch to do! I hope you all like it, you all need to bow down to my beta, she helped a lot with this. **

"We will be at the Citadel soon Garrus, after we find Thane's son we will go after Sidonis." Shepard promised the turian as she laid her hand on her friends shoulder reassuringly. She hated to see him so angry and haunted; some days were normal and others he would stay locked up in the forward battery, refusing to speak to anyone. He was obsessed with his revenge and she didn't like what it was turning him into.

"Thank you Shepard, I'll be doing some calibrations if you need me." Garrus murmured, walking off to the forward battery once again.

Shepard walked down the hall reluctantly, running her hands through her hair tiredly as she went. She hoped that Garrus was going to be ok, at times he seemed like the old Garrus, but underneath the sarcasm and friendly attitude, Garrus was being consumed by dark thoughts and Shepard didn't like where they were taking him.

Shepard activated the locking mechanism on Kasumi's door; she hadn't spoken with the thief in a while.

"Hey Shep." Kasumi smiled at her from the couch, Kelly alongside her.

"Hey Shepard." Kelly greeted with a smile of her own.

"Hey, what are you two up to?" Maria asked as she walked into the room.

"I was just telling Kelly about my night with Jacob." Kasumi grinned, patting the seat next to her.

"Really?" Shepard questioned as she lowered herself next to the Japanese woman; a slow smile spreading across her lips knowingly.

"Yes, we had a wonderful night, he came down here and we shared a few drinks, got too know each other a bit. I told him the stories about my painting and the rose. He told me about his time with the Alliance and what his proudest mission was." Kasumi spoke in a dreamy voice that sort of made Shepard want to gag, but she let her friend continue, happy she was happy.

"Then he kind of just stopped talking and stared at me, he told me how beautiful I was and how much he enjoyed his time with me. He said my eyes shone like the stars, and that my beauty could make angels cry, also that any man would be lucky to even be in my presence." Kasumi recited, Kelly hanging on her every word.

_Oh yeah I'm going to puke, _Shepard thought keeping the friendly smile on her face, trying not to burst out laughing.

"That's wonderful Kasumi, I'm happy for you," She managed to say with a straight face. "Well I have to go, but I'll talk to you later." Shepard rose from the couch and headed for the door, but before she could get there, Kelly stopped her with her next words.

"So Shepard, what's it like kissing Thane?" She teased. Kasumi and her giggled like school girls at the expression on the Commanders face.

"Excuse me?" Maria asked. _Fuck me, these two know. Now the whole damn ship is going to be talking about it. _

"Well, I saw you and Thane leaving life support the night of the fight. I saw you kiss his forehead and him kiss your neck. Don't look at me like that; you know I walk cloaked around the ship." Kasumi grinned at her.

"And I overheard Joker messing with you on the comm when I went up to see how he was doing, didn't take much to get him to tell me what he saw." An evil smile graced Kelly's lips that could rival Jacks.

"You two are horrible individuals, you know that." Maria rubbed her face with her hands.

"Come on Shep, tell us what's like. Just a bit of dirt," Kasumi pleaded.

"Yeah, come on Commander." Kelly joined in.

"You to act like gossip is your drug and I'm denying you your fix." Shepard shook her head at them, but turned her attention back to them regardless, relenting to their begging. "Alright, it was . . . amazing. I have never felt this way about anyone before, and I'm happy to finally have everything out in the open with him." She told them, a smile on her face and a distant look in her eyes that was just shy of the goofy look Kasumi had on her face when speaking of Jacob. _Ok, so I have it bad for the guy but I'm still not fawning over recited poetry. No matter how much I care about Thane, I swear on my life I will shoot him if he recites poetry to me. _

"Now I'm leaving you two addicts to your drug, have fun." She walked out, the door closing on the sound of their laughter. "God save me, what am I going to do about those two?" Shepard groaned lightly, rubbing her temples to try to ease the headache that was starting.

"Do what, about who, Shepard?" Maria nearly jumped in shock at the sound of Thane's voice next to her.

"Thane! What the hell?" She hissed. "You nearly gave me heart attack!"

"I apologies Shepard," He told her, not looking sorry at all, a smug look on his face.

_I'm becoming a bad influence on him, _Maria thought to herself as she glared at him.

"So, Who were you speaking of." He asked, hitting the holo pad to his rooms and letting her walk in front of him.

"Kasumi and Kelly," She told him, sitting on his cot.

"Ah, I see. Yes I was wondering when they would tell you." He said, setting the plate of fruit that was in his hand on the chair in front of them as he took a seat next to her on his bed, draping an arm around her in order to bring her body closer.

"Wait. You knew? You knew, they knew about us?" Shepard looked at him sharply.

"Yes. I knew Ms. Goto was there when I escorted you to the elevator." Thane admitted casually, popping a grape into his mouth, she had gotten him addicted to them.

Shepard could only stare at him with narrowed eyes, _That son-of-a-bitch, I could have confronted Kasumi earlier and stopped her and Kelly from making wild rumors about us! _She wasn't angry with him of course but she wished that he had told her so she could have stopped the two gossipers from going overboard. "How come you didn't tell me?" She asked him, slipping out of his arm to face him fully.

Thane gave her his full attention now, thinking she was angry at him, "I didn't think I had too."

"Do you have any idea how much those two gossip? Who knows what they are saying?" Shepard's voice rose a bit without her noticing it.

"I'm sorry the crew knowing displeases you. I will step aside if our relationship causes you embarrassment." Thane stood from the cot, his face an unreadable mask once again as he walked to the window, his hands clasped behind his back.

_Ah shit. _She hadn't meant for that to happen. Shepard stood from the cot her voice low, "Thane, I didn't mean for it to sound like, I'm not ashamed of being with you. Not at all." She came up behind him, not sure if she should touch him though, "I only meant that, I wish you had told me because Kasumi and Kelly can go overboard with their stories. I was just forced to watch those two act like thirteen year old school girls while Kasumi recited bad poetry Jacob told her. They make everything so disgustingly romantic that it makes you want to be sick. Believe me, I have no problem with the crew knowing, it's just, I want them to find out from us or by watching us together, not by the ships resident tabloid reporters," Shepard explained, hoping he would understand.

Thane continued to look out the window, taking in what Shepard had just told him. _So, she wasn't ashamed. She wanted people to know, and yes, she did have a point about the two women. _Thane turned his head just as Shepard thought he was going to keep ignoring her. "Yes, those two do have a habit of creating outrageous stories." He whispered, giving her a small smile to let her know he understood.

Shepard gave him one of her light up the room smiles, happy he was ok. "I'm sorry, I was a bit dramatic there." She laughed sitting back down on the cot.

"Yes, you were." He told her, sitting with one leg folded on the bed as the other hung over the edge so he could face her.

"Oh thanks. But you didn't just have to suffer through the horrible girly recap of her night with Jacob, now did you?" She asked him pointedly.

"No. I most likely would have to shot myself eventually. With my perfect memory I would not be able to forget it." He quippe, in his normal serious tone. It had taken Shepard a while to figure out his sense of humor, but once she had, she realized he actually joked a lot.

"I could tell you it, if you want" She gave him a slow smirk.

"I am giving you fair warning. I will be forced to restrain you." He narrowed his eyes, daring her to try and tell him.

Shepard stared into his eyes, the challenging look in them making her want to disobey. _I never was one for rules, _she thought with a small smirk before opening her mouth and started to retell the story. All she got out was, 'So Kasumi and Jacob shared drinks then . . . ' before Thane lashed out with lighting fast speed. He grabbed her by the wrists and pinned them over her head, forcing her to lie on her back, holding her there with the weight of his body, but careful not to hurt her with his own. She wiggled around under him trying to free her hands from his grip, but it was no use. Drell were stronger than humans and he was definitely strong enough to take down a woman, cybernetics or no. "Are you going to stop?" He asked her calmly, but his brow ridges were knitted together as he narrowed his eyes down at her.

Shepard looked up at him, a bit dazed by how fast he had moved. A slow, pleasant heat began to build in her lower belly and crawl its way up her spine as they continued to glare at one another, each challenging the other_. There is something wrong with me I know it_. "No." She said simply, continuing where she left off.

_She wants to play, I can play, _Thane thought, before securing her wrist with one of his hands easily and lifter her shirt up, showing of the smooth tattooed skin of her stomach, the wound that had been there looked like it never existed. Thane bent down and stopped when he didn't hear her speak. "Are you going to stop?" He asked again. _Don't stop, _he thought.

Shepard sucked in a breath, feeling the warmth of his breath on her stomach sent new chills down her spine that reached down to her toes. "No" She choked out, continuing at the part with them getting to know each other. Thane smirked, then without warning, bit down on the right side of her stomach where there was no tattoo. He didn't do it hard enough to brake skin but enough to leave a mark that wasn't going away for a while and enough to shock her into stopping her story.

Shepard's eyes grew big in shock, arching her back in response, and thrashing her body against his. Pain shot through her side, mixed with the tingling feeling of being tickled. Both turned to pleasure quickly which caused immediate warmth to shoot from the bite to between her legs. Thane sucked on the mark causing the area around it to grow even darker. He pulled back slightly to look at his work, smiling at the mark he had left on her. Thane rose from his bent position to hover over her body looking down at the disheveled state that the Commander was in. Her hair was tossed around her from her struggling, her cheeks were flushed, her breathing was ragged causing her chest to rise and fall dramatically, her shirt was still thrown up, showing off her tattoo and the bite mark he had just caused and he still had her hands pinned over her head. Seeing her like this awoke something primal in him, something he had kept buried deep inside him for years, and now he was tempted to let it out, and have his way with her right there and then. From the look she was giving him she was thinking the same thing. _Don't! Get off of her and back off. You don't want to take this too fast, she is the first woman you have cared for since Irikah, and probably the only one who is capable of bring you out of your battle sleep. She is special to you Thane, do not mess this up. _The voice in his head that always steered him in the right path pleaded with him. _It's been ten years! It's obvious she wants you as bad as you want her, do it! _There was that other voice that always seemed to want to get him in trouble as a kid. Thane made a growling sound in the back of his throat, frustrated with himself right now. He didn't notice his hand loosen around her wrist, which was all she needed.

Shepard tugged her wrist from his grip and managed to get her foot in between their bodies and kicked Thane off of her sending him stumbling backwards into the wall opposite them. Thane shook his head stunned at what just happened, when he looked up he saw the Commander walk of the bed, a fire in her eyes that probably mirrored his own. When she got in front of him she tugged his head down to meet her lips in a heated kiss. Thane pulled her close to him, running his hands down her body to pull her up by her ass so she would have to straddle him as he switched their positions against the wall, pinning her against him and the metal. They moaned into each other's mouths, loving the taste of one another. Shepard started to become dazed by the effect his kisses had on her, but none of that mattered at the moment, all she knew is that she couldn't get close enough to him. Shepard came up from the kiss laying her head against the cool metal behind her, Thane continuing his kisses down her neck.

"Take your shirt off. Now" She ordered him, breathlessly.

Thane didn't even hesitate. He carried her to the table and set her down on top of it, standing between her legs, not stopping his kisses on her neck but working his jacket off his shoulders and down his arms as he continued. She ground her hips against his crotch, feeling the bulge there and causing him to bite down on her neck, groaning as he did so. He threw his jacket across the room, letting it land on the ground and began to work the snaps and zippers on his vest; Shepard held his head in place between the hollow of her neck, gasping for breath as he nails dug lightly into his scales. Thane finally got his vest off with a growl, throwing it to the side with his jacket; _next time I'm buying something with less snaps and buckles. _He returned his mouth to hers, as his hands gripped her hips, his tongue sliding against her own eagerly. Shepard ran her hands everywhere, across his exposed chest and stomach that she could reach, feeling the hard muscles and smooth scales. Thane slid his hands under her shirt, intending to take the thing off, when Jokers voice called out above them.

"Commander, Jack and Miranda are in the middle of a . . . disagreement. Can you head it off before they tear out a bulkhead?" Joker explained.

_Damn that is serious; I'm going to kill those two! _"Shit. I'll deal with it." Shepard gritted her teeth in frustration. Thane moved off of her grudgingly, allowing her to make herself more presentable.

"Take pictures." Joker signed off.

Thane watched her as she fixed her cloths and hair. "I am afraid you will have to acquire a new pilot, second-in-command and a new soldier." He spoke calmly but his voice sounded a bit deeper than usual.

"Why?" She asked, done fixing herself and coming closer to him so he could hold her to him.

Thane looked down at her, dead serious expression on his face, "Because I'm going to put a bullet between their eyes." He whispered, kissing her lips.

"I'll handle Jack and Miranda you handle Joker, deal?" She smiled at him.

"We will meet back here after we are finished?" He asked, nuzzling her neck.

"Sounds like a plan." She kissed his forehead like she always did, and he kissed her neck.

"Now I have some biotic ass to kick. See you in a bit." Thane watched her as she walked out the door.

He walked over and retrieved his jacket from the floor and put his vest back on, opting instead to lay his jacket across the desk where Shepard had been a few minutes ago. He figured it was for the best that they had been interrupted, he wasn't sure he would have been able to hold back for long. But that didn't mean he was pleased about being interrupted. He was going to make a quick visit to Joker up in the pilot's cabin. Thane walked out of his rooms and into the elevator, he could hear Shepard yelling at the two women down the hall as the doors closed on the sound of her voice. With a smirk he continued onto his personal mission to have a word with Joker.

* * *

"Please tell me we still have a pilot?" Shepard asked, munching on an apple slice that she had taken from the forgotten fruit bowl on the chair.

"Yes, we do. A scared one but he is alive and can still fly the ship." Thane told her in his usual stoic manner. He sat down next to her on the cot, reassuming the position they had been in before their game of dominance.

"That's good." Shepard shrugged and finished her apple slice. She laid her head on his shoulder, enjoying the quite moment why it lasted.

"How did the argument go with the girls?" He asked.

"I basically told them they could kill each other after the mission was over, which Jack agreed to." Shepard told him, closing her eyes as she spoke.

Thane chuckled lightly, looking down at her from the side, "Are you tired, Shepard?"

"Maybe, but I can't sleep. I need to stay up in case something happens." Shepard got up but her eyes were half closed.

Thane pulled her gently back down by the hand and forced her to lie back on the bed, "You can rest for a moment, EDI will wake you if there is anything that needs your attention."

Shepard honestly didn't have the strength to fight him or the exhaustion anymore. Between Jack's mission, worrying about Garrus, her make-out session with Thane and calming down the two biotic bitches, Shepard was done. She relented and laid down on her side, resting one hand under her head and the other on her hip. Thane mad to move so he could allow her to rest, but her hand shot out to stop him, "Please, lay next to me. You could use some sleep yourself, I know you have been worrying about Kolyat." She whispered.

It was true, he hadn't been sleeping that much since he got the news of his son, he chose to meditate in all hours of the night. "Alright." He whispered back. Thane climbed in behind her, pulling the blankets over both of them. She took his right arm and wrapped it around her waist, snuggling deeper into his chest, falling asleep in minutes. Thane watched her sleep for a while, than kissed the top of her head, "Sleep well, Siha." He hadn't called her that again after the first time it came out, not knowing if he should, but things were pretty clear now, she was there to stay for a while and he was happier than he had been in a long time_. Now if only we succeeded in saving Kolyat, and I am able to reconnect with him, I would be truly at peace. _With that last thought Thane relaxed, and closed his eyes, allowing himself to slip into the peaceful embrace of sleep.

* * *

"That may go down in history as the shortest interrogation ever." Thane commented with amusement, as both of them made their way out of the interrogation room and walked up to Bailey.

"What's the story? Why did Kelham hire the boy?" Bailey asked them.

"Assassination. A turian name Joram Tallid. You know him?" Shepard asked.

The C-sec Captain did. He directed them to the 800 blacks and ordered a squad car to follow them there. Shepard instructed Garrus to wait at the Zakara wards, they didn't need to be scaring the kid when they met up with him, and Captain Bailey and another C-sec officer were already coming with them.

"Don't get into too much trouble without me Commander." Garrus joked, walking off to the weapon supplier shop.

Shepard and Thane walked to the transit station, hailing a car and made their way to the 800 blocks.

**I didn't lie Matyrfae, I did go to the loyalty mission =)…just didn't finish it lol. **


	9. Sins of the Father P3: Sorry Thane

**You didn't think I would leave you hanging like that did you. I had to get the actual mission to you guys, I'm not that mean. Just a heads up I have changed the mission quite a bit, hope you like. **

"Kolyat!" Shepard yelled from the balcony.

The sudden cry of his name caused the young drell to panic and reflexively turn to the source of the shout. A human woman in black and green armor had yelled his name in the strangest accent, pronouncing it slightly different then it should be; she was staring at him from the balcony above. _Shit, that bitch just blew my cover; _he thought as he quickly turned back to Tallied and the krogan body guard, who were now aware of him and the danger of this pistol in his hand. The krogan drew up his gun as Kolyat went to fire, pushing Tallied out of the way and into the building as he order him to call C-sec. Lucky for Kolyat he had been a second faster than the krogan, his bullet entered and exited the bodyguards leg, causing him to go down long enough for Kolyat to run after Tallied.

"Thane!" Shepard called as she jumped from the balcony, running alongside the assassin as her feet touched the ground.

"I saw." Thane told her, not slowing his pace for a second.

Shepard and Thane quickly reached the stairwell, running up taking the stairs two at a time, desperate to catch up with Kolyat and his pray. Shepard was barely able to see the tail end of Kolyat's coat turn through the corner on the top floor, before disappearing behind the slammed door. When they got through the door there were only three rooms on the floor. The one on the right at the end of the hall had just closed. _Please, don't let us be too late, _Thane prayed. They ran to the door, passing through it quickly just to slow down as they walked up the short stairs where Tallied and Kolyat were; the scene before Thane left a chill in his gut.

Kolyat had Tallied on his knees, hands behind his head as he pointed a gun to the back of it. Shepard immediately raised her gun, pointing it at the young drell, watching as his eyes darted franticly from the man on the ground to her. The boy was clearly scared, but he held his gun firmly in his hands and did not make the mistake of panicing again and possibly shooting at them as they had come through the doors. Maria studied his face as he made eye contact with her, his bottomless black eyes identical to his fathers, but where calm and composure was in Thane's, hate, anger and fear clouded his son's. Kolyat's coloring was in complete contrast with his father's bright, vibrant greens and red. Instead the young drell was covered in deep blues that faded to teal; the barest outline of light green could be seen if one looked hard enough. His black drell markings mimicked Thane's, even the octagon shape on his forehead. However, Kolyat possessed jagged cheek markings that ran the length of his face, hugging the border between his scaled face and frilled neck. The ribbing there was dark like the rest of him, a deep purple-red color that of course ended in a V-shape just above his silver necklace. His clothing was almost identical to his fathers, though again their color scheme was much different, Kolyat's being blue and silver and absent of a whole in the center.

"Kolyat." Thane spoke next to her, braking Kolyat's and her eye contact by bring his son's attention to him.

Kolyat look at his father, his face pulling in disgust, "This - This is a joke. Now? Now you show up?" His voice was not as deep as his father's but the normal gravely quality that drell had to there voice was heavier in his own, almost like a thicker accent.

"Help me drell, I'll do whatever you want." Tallied begged from his keeled position on the ground.

Bailey and his officer decided to come in at that moment, guns pointed at Kolyat, ordering for him to put his own down.

"Get out of my way. I'm walking out. He's coming with me." Kolyat told them, not letting the gun leave Tallied's head.

Thane walked forward, frustrated at his son's stubbornness, "They'll have snipers outside."

"I don't need your help." Kolyat sneered at his father. "All of you back off, I'll kill him!"

Shepard saw the lamp behind Kolyat, thinking maybe she could startle him and disarm him. _Or he could end up pulling the trigger on accident. Damn, ok time to go with plan B. _

"I'm sorry Thane." She whispered, before pulling her own trigger, grazing Kolyat's arm. _That's going to leave a pretty mark. _

Kolyat screamed, holding his right arm, "Oh my gods!" He fell to the floor, Tallied took that opportunity to scramble to his feet, running behind them.

Shepard walked up to the boy on the ground, holstering her gun, "Never hold a gun up to someone unless you're willing to make them feel pain like that." Kolyat got to his knees in front of her, his eyes glancing to the gun at her feet. Shepard kicked it across the floor, turning her back on him and returning to Thane's side. _He doesn't look mad at me, that's a relief. But his son probably wants to kill me right now. _"Tallied, get the hell out of here." The scared turian walked out on shaking legs, muttering a shaken thanks.

"Take the boy into custody." Bailey ordered.

"You fucking bitch!" Kolyat yelled at her, murder in his eyes. _Oh yeah he wants to kill me. _Shepard gave him a smirk just to piss him off even more.

"Your father doesn't have much time left, Kolyat, he is trying to make up for past mistakes, and I suggest you listen." Shepard told him.

"What, so you came to get my forgiveness? So you could die in peace or something?" Kolyat asked in anger, turning his gaze on his father.

Thane walked up to his son. _If he cannot have a relationship with my son, so be it. But Kolyat needs to know everything to move on completely and I'm not going to let my son become a murderer, thanks to Shepard we have saved him from that sin. _"I came to grant you peace." He whispered. "You're angry because I wasn't there when your mother died." Thane looked lost as he continued, but knew this is something he needed to do.

"You weren't there when she was alive, why would you be there when she died?" The young drell yelled at him, now on his feet, still clutching his bleeding arm.

Thane looked down, ashamed of what he had done. "Your mother . . ." He was cut off by the door swishing open and four big Krogan walking in, the same ones from the bar that Tallied had visited with his guard and two of their friends.

"You're going to pay for injuring our battlemaster drell!" One of them yelled drawing there shotguns.

Kolyat's eyes grew larger before Thane pushed him to the side and took out his side arm, shooting at the Krogan at the same time that Bailey, the C-sec officer and Shepard did.

Kolyat looked between the groups of shooters and knew this was his only chance of escaping. He looked at his father's back, hesitating. _Maybe I should listen to what he has to say?_ He shook his head, his face showing anger, _No. He left mom and I, there is nothing he has to say that I want to hear. _The two groups in the room were now spreading out, the two c-sec officers were on the far side of the room taking cover behind a metal bar, two of the Krogan were firing on them, far away from the door. The other two were firing on the human and his dad. The woman was crouched down behind a wall shooting a pistol and his father had kicked a table on its side in front of them and was now behind it, also shooting. It only took seconds for Kolyat to spot his pistol; the gun was not too far from him. He slid over and picked it up, hearing one of the Krogan behind him cry out in pain and then a thud on the floor. He turned to survey the scene, now there was just one fighting his father and the human, the other was panting on the ground stunned. _Damn these Krogan are regenerating fast. _But that was his chance, while the Krogan was down he could rush out the door, past the preoccupied groups, he just had to be fast enough.

Kolyat crawled over to the side staying behind his father so he couldn't see what he was doing, he got on his feet but remained crouched down so as not to draw attention to himself. The woman his father had shown up with suddenly erupted in blue biotic flames. _Is she crazy, using biotics in this small of space could hit us all? _But then she did a move that he had never seen before, she raised the Krogan high in the air and slammed him back down hard to the floor. _Shit! _But Kolyat couldn't think about the impressive show of biotics and the amount of control that had taken any longer, he had to move quickly. Kolyat raced to the door, jumping over the Krogan on the floor that his father had shot, just as he was getting up from the ground.

_Ah, hell. Fucking kid. _Maria rolled her eyes, hearing Thane scream his son's name. Maria watched as Thane stood up, ready to run after him, but was shot at from the other Krogan the C-sec officers were still fighting; his attention had been shifted to them when Kolyat had ran from the room. Shepard was forced to do the first thing that came to mind. She leaped from cover, punching the adrenalin on her suit and charged the Krogan at the door who was staggering to his feet, sending him crashing to the ground once more as she ran after Kolyat.

**Looks like I am that mean =). Review or I hold the next chapter hostage!**


	10. Sins of the Father Pt4: Don't Walk Away

**Finally done! Thanks so much for the reviews, hope you all like.**

Kolyat looked around frantically in the hallway, trying to decide which way was the quickest and safest exit. His father had said there would be snipers outside, so he couldn't go out the front, instead he went through the door in front of him, hoping they had a balcony. He ran through the room searching quickly, a human woman yelled from the corner as he burst through the door, behind her was large glass doors, which lead out onto the balcony. _Thank the gods. _"Sorry." He held up his hands to her as he ran by, scaring her even more because of the gun in his right hand.

He ran out onto the balcony and looked down at the drop below. There was a five story drop waiting for him. _I can make that, just kick on my biotics and let my body take care of the rest._ Drell could jump from high places without injuring themselves because of their dense muscle structure, but five stories was a stretch, though with his biotics it might be feasible. Just as he put his hands on the railing to jump, he heard a crashing sound behind him. He looked back to see the human woman that had been with his father in the door way of the apartment. She locked eyes with him, taking in what he was about to do, "Kolyat, don't!" She warned. He gave her the same smirk that she had given him after she had shot him, before turning and jumping.

_I'm going to kill this kid, _Shepard thought before rushing to the balcony, ignoring the scared woman in the room. She looked down where Kolyat had just landed as he looked up at her, giving her a mock salute before walking towards the rapid transit station to hail a car. _Oh mijo, you don't know who you're fucking with. _She set her hands on the railing and didn't even think twice before jumping to the unforgiving floor below. Maria landed in a crouch on her feet, standing in one fluid motion; her new cybernetics and titanium bones making the jump easy. Kolyat heard her hit the ground behind him and froze before slowly turning around, staring in disbelief at the woman who was perfectly fine after jumping from a five story building, giving him a menacing smile, a light orange glow coming from a scar on the side of her face and her eyes. _What the hell is this woman? _Kolyat blenched and ran as fast as he could towards the transit. Shepard didn't even have to run, taking her pistol from her hip and waiting till Kolyat got about ten yards away from the transit, letting him think he would get away. Then she pulled the trigger, the bullet going right through the machine, blowing the thing in half and shutting it down. The sound of gun fire startled the crowed, causing people to run in all directions away from her. Kolyat dropped his gun to the floor in fear, looking franticly around trying to find any way to get away from her. _Oh I'm going to mess with this kid so bad, _she thought evilly.

He had two ways to go, run the same direction as the crowed into the shopping districts or back into the building he had just left. He went to run to the shopping areas, hoping to lose the woman in the crowed, but Shepard shot the ground where he would have been, stopping him in his tracks. _Would she really kill him? _He decided to address the human, in a voice that sounded way braver than he was actually feeling, "You won't kill me human. My father wouldn't be pleased." He hoped that would make her put the gun away, no such luck. She just laughed lightly and shook her head at him, never lowering her aim, "Your right." She spoke her smile growing less menacing and more friendly, which just scared him more. "But that doesn't mean I have any problem shooting you. I think I just proved it up there now didn't I. I'm pretty damn sure your father would rather me cripple you then let you throw your life away like this."

"My father walked out on my mother and me. Why should he care what happens to me?" He yelled at her.

"Because he does care Kolyat, he is trying to make things right and save you from the life he was forced to lead." She tried to reason with him.

Kolyat didn't want to hear what she had to say, he moved to run again but she shot the ground next to him once again, even closer this time. Kolyat let out a frustrated growl and looked over at the door of the building that they had just jumped from. _Maybe I can lose her in there? It's a big building, lots of rooms and turns. So long as I don't run into the Krogan, C-sec or my father I should be fine. And if this crazy human doesn't get me_, those where his last thoughts before charging into the building, just relieved she hadn't attempted to stop him again.

Shepard shook her head and holstered her gun as she sprinted to the door. _Good boy. That's exactly what I wanted you to do, estupido. _

Kolyat was in a hallway again, doors going all the way down, all were locked. There was a stairs at the end leading up, the sign at the stairs read 'top entrance'. He couldn't go there; the snipers would be in the front. He looked to his left at the only option he had, a single door with a green holo pad. _Please, let her think I went up the stairs; _he prayed as he hit the button and ran in.

Shepard came through the door way, hands on either side of the frame looking around, her long hair moving back and forth with her head. _All doors are locked, except this one, but he could have taken the stairs. _Then she heard a noise that sounded like metal dropping to the floor from the door to her left. _Oh, Kolyat. You are not cut out for this whole assassin thing. _She shook her head and touched the holo pad to the door walking inside.

* * *

Thane shot the last Krogan in the head watching him go down, never to get back up. He came out of his hiding place, holding the side of his right leg where blood seeped through a hole in his leg, one of the Krogan's had got close enough to get him in the leg when his shields where down. _Thank the gods it had only been a pistol, if he had used his shotgun he would have blown his leg off. _Thane half limped, half ran to the door, looking at the woman on the ground shaking in the hallway. She jumped when she saw him, but frozen to her spot by fear.

"I won't hurt you." He holstered his gun and spoke gently. "Are you hurt?" He asked.

She shook her head, tears in her eyes as she tried to calm down.

"Did you see where the other drell went and the human woman in armor?" He asked her, trying to keep his voice soothing so as not to scare her further.

"They went that way." She pointed a shaky finger into the apartment. "The alien jumped out the balcony and the woman went after him, then there were gun shots, and they shouted at each other and then another gun shot. I don't know where they went after, I'm sorry." She whimpered into her hands.

"Thank you, you have done enough." He walked passed her into the room as Bailey and the officer helped the woman.

He looked at the open balcony door and limped forward. He looked down at the height he was at. _Crap. This will hurt, _he thought before charging up his biotics to full strength and jumping to the street below. _Yes, that hurt. _But he remained on his feet and walked out of the alleyway. There was a broken transit terminal some distance away, Shepard must have stopped Kolyat from getting in a car, that was good. He walked over to the fallen gun on the ground and picked it up, he looked around at the few people on the street, all hiding behind cover and staring at him in fear. He dropped the gun on the floor and limped towards one of the people, keeping his distance so they wouldn't run, holding his hands in front of him.

"Where did they go?" He asked.

The shaken turian pointed a gloved talon at the door to his right.

_They went back into the building? _Thane walked as fast as he could to the door, saying a prayer on his way that they were both ok and hadn't killed each other. He came to the hallway of locked doors. _Did they take the stairs or one of these doors? _He got his answer when heard the light sound of metal dropping to the floor from inside the room to his left.

* * *

Kolyat had opened the door to find it was a big maintenance room, with dim lighting, machines everywhere, and varies boxes of tools and junk. _Maybe I can hide. _He walked to the back of the room quickly, breathing hard and looking over his shoulder every so often. He twisted through the room and hid behind a big machine in the corner, crouching low, his back to the metal. He stayed there, listening for any sound, but the noise of the machines was loud enough that he couldn't hear anything coming from the hall. He turned around, still in his crouched position, taking a peak around the corner at the part of the door he could see. He grabbed the metal bar on the side and leaned forward to get a better look at the door, still trying to remain behind his cover. Unfortunately, the metal handle gave away under his weight and clattered to the ground. _Ah, fuck!_

* * *

Shepard came through the door; she was met with the sight of machines and boxes everywhere. The lighting was low and the noise was enough to muffle movement. _This is one hell of a hiding place, _she thought. She pulled out her omini tool and hacked the door, locking it. If Thane found the door he would be able to unlock it from the outside but she was sure Kolyat wouldn't be able to get past her long enough to hack the door, if he even could.

She started to move forward, keeping straight just in case he made a dash for the door, looking around the room. "Kolyat, I know you're in here. You already know I won't kill you and I don't want to hurt you if I don't have to." _Actually I do want to hurt the little bastard for causing us so much trouble and making me chase him around. _He just left his father to get shot at without even thinking twice, that really pissed her off_. _She continued to speak, "Look, I know your probably harboring a lot of anger towards your father, and you have every right too. But he really does love you Kolyat and knows he made a horrible mistake. He has so much to tell you that you don't know and I think if you just listened you would understand. He is not asking for your forgiveness and I'm not asking you to forgive him, just talk to him, and hear him out. Then make a choice on whether or not you want him out of your life. Believe me Kolyat, you will regret this for the rest of your life if you don't speak to him."

Kolyat listened to her request, not wanting to hope that maybe she was right. "How do you know what I will and will not regret?" He asked angrily, he had the fallen handle in his hand and if she came close he wouldn't hesitate in hitting her with it. He had been taught by his mother to never lay a hand on a woman and be a gentleman, but this one had shot him in the arm, shot at him twice and he had a feeling even being hit by a metal rod wouldn't take her down.

Maria faced the direction that his voice had come from she didn't go to move after him she stayed where was, "Can you see me?"

_Why was she asking that? _He poked his head out of the corner, "Yes, I can see you." He answered her.

"Good" Shepard hit the button on her chest plate that would disassemble the top portion of her armor, than she took off the armor on her arms, the black and green metal clattered to the floor. She wore a tight white tank top underneath, showing her tattooed arms and the gold cross hanging from her neck.

Kolyat stared at her with wide eyes, not knowing why she was taking off her armor, "What . . . what are you doing?" He stammered.

"I'm going to tell you a story, so listen because I'm not repeating it." She told him. She lifted the cross in the direction she was guessing he was at. "Do you see this? This has been around my neck for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the orphanage I lived in, the people there told me that they found me with this around my neck. They found me on the door steps of their church, alone, in a basket, with nothing but a dress that looked more like rags on me and a blanket over me. They told me that this necklace, a symbol of our faith, made of real gold and rubies was something my parents wanted me to have. The people who abandoned me on a door step. I carried so much hate and anger inside me when I was your age, but also many questions and confusion. I couldn't understand why they would leave me? Why they wouldn't want me? Why they weren't there for me?" Shepard's voice grew distant and low. Kolyat was rooted to the spot listening to her every word. Shepard continued, "Where I come from, children don't get adopted, too many poor families. So I grew up in that place, the padre and the nuns tried to do the best they could for us, but they didn't have much to give. They did what they could and they loved us and taught us our native language, teaching us the history of not only our country but the human race as a whole, so we could be proud of our heritage, proud of where we come from. We learned the word of god and how to pray, about the stories in the bible, and how to be a good person." Shepard realized she was getting lost in her own memories and was rambling, she had a point to all this. "Unfortunately, gang members from the city would come and speak to us through the fences, even come into the church and orphanage. They promised us a future, a family, a place to call home. The padre would always scare them off telling us to not listen, but for a bunch of young kids who always dreamed of nothing more than to have a family, who prayed to god for one every night, those peoples offer was too good for us to walk away from. Two of my friends and I ran away when we were ten, we joined the Reds and stayed with them for ten years. We did everything they told us to, just so we could be a part of a _family_." The word 'family' she spat out bitterly. "Kolyat, when I was around your age, I got the chance to meet my real parents and I walked away, five days later, they were murdered. There three kids were left orphaned and sent to the same place I grew up. I regretted walking away that night, and I have never stopped. I could have had a real family, connected with them, had a real life, but I walked away. Please, don't walk away from this, your father is here, and he cares for you. Give him a chance." Shepard finished, hoping she had gotten through to him.

Kolyat stared at the wall in front of him, sitting on the ground, tears running down his face. _She understands what I'm going through, and she lost the opportunity to speak to her parents, people she had every right to hate as much as I do my father. She never stopped regretting walking away. I don't want to wonder 'what if' the rest of my life, and I don't t want to lose my opportunity with the only parent I have left. _Kolyat stood from his position on the floor and laid the metal bar on the ground, coming out of his hiding place to stand in front of her. "I'll . . . I'll speak to him." He told her softly.

"Thank you." She looked at him, a tired expression on her face.

He actually gave her a smile, a kind of jerky lopsided one, but a smile none the less. "You know, even if we talk and things work out, I'm still going to jail for attempt of murder. My father will be speaking to me through the windows of a cell." He muttered.

She gave out a sharp laugh, "Let me take care of that."

* * *

Thane was on the other side of the door; he had heard the whole thing. He let out a breath, a relived smile on his face. _She has done it; my Siha has saved my son._

**I planned on there to be a fight between Kolyat and Shepard before she told him about her past but I like this better. I'll have her beat him up later. **


	11. Siha

The group walked up to the C-sec officer in front of them; the woman saluted the Commander as she passed, which Maria returned. "We have a room for your friend and his son to talk in Commander Shepard."

"Thank you." Shepard told her, moving past her, setting her armor down on the floor next to Bailey's desk. A young C-sec officer had them taken back to the ship.

Kolyat turned his head towards her, "Commander Shepard?" He choked out.

Shepard sat in the chair offered to her in front of Bailey's desk, the back of it between her legs as she rested her arms on it and relaxed forward; she winked at Kolyat giving him a smirk.

"I was being shot at by Commander Shepard." He stared wide eyed at her.

"Wait, does that mean all I had to do is yell out my name to you and you wouldn't have taken me on a chase through the building?" She looked up at him annoyed; taking the water the C-sec officer offered her, thanking him.

"I would have definitely thought twice about it." Kolyat told her sheepishly, before following his father into the room they were given to talk in.

"Ok that's it, when we get back on the ship I'm having Jacob paint a big god damn sign on my armor that says, 'Hello, I'm Commander Shepard and I like to shoot people'. Maybe that will warn people not to fucking with me." She ranted to Garrus from her seat.

Garrus chuckled at the Commander, "So. What happened?" Garrus asked her, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest.

Bailey was also listening in on the conversation, curious about what her and the kid went through. "Well, we were able to get the hostage out safe, then four Krogan that were freaks of nature, who regenerated faster than Wrex in a blood rage, started shooting up the place. Kolyat decided to run out of the room, so I had to chase after him, jumping from the fifth story window of the building, shot a transit station, shot at him and told him a story while he hid from me. Now we're here," Shepard finished, taking a drink of her water.

"So, you played follow the leader with the kid, then cops and robbers, then had story time while playing hide and seek. Does that sound about right?" Garrus gave her a wide smile.

"Your ability to summarize stories amazes me Garrus." She commented in a flat tone, rolling her eyes at her friend.

"So what story did you tell him?" Garrus asked her seriously.

"The one about me not getting to talk to my parents, and regretting it forever." She hung her head over the chair, she was so tired and just wanted to get some sleep.

"Ah. That one. That is something he would be able to relate to in this situation. You did good Shepard, saved the kid from becoming a murderer." Garrus spoke in a low tone meant to sooth; he knew it must have been taxing on the Commander's emotions to retell the story. He watched the Commander nod wordlessly before she turned to Bailey and started asking him what happened in the apartment building.

Garrus got lost in his own thoughts. She had told Tali, Wrex and him all about that story one night down in the cargo hold on the old Normandy. Wrex had been saying how she must have had one hell of a childhood to become the badass she was today. They had just been sparring and she had tossed the Krogan on his ass. At the time they had been heading to Virmire, they had been through a lot with each other and the Commander felt comfortable telling her story to the people she now considered close enough to be family. Maria had a talent for that, a way of making the crew feel like one big family, even the aliens. She had even done it with the new crew; taken all these diverse individuals and brought them together to work as a single unit, people who would have never thought twice about speaking to each other if they had crossed each other's paths before meeting her. _We probably would have tried to kill each other most likely. _Now, they were all willing to take a bullet for the person next to them. _Well except Miranda and Jack, they still wanted to put a bullet in the other but still, they worked together because the Commander asked them to and that was impressive in its self. _The Commander was said to do the impossible in her missions that she took on, but she also achieved the impossible with the people she recruited, that was her gift, that thing that made her unique and special, her ability to do the impossible with anything she chose to take on. If they lost her, this crew wouldn't do any better than the last, they would fall apart. _I would die if we lost her again, so would Tali and Thane. We can't lose her again, I won't let it happen. _

Sometime passed with nobody saying anything, the Commander was still in her chair, head to the ground with her eyes closed, the bottle loose in her hand. Bailey was typing away on his computer and Garrus just watched the people pass by, thinking about all the times they had been here, two years ago.

"They have been in there awhile." Shepard spoke in a whisper only Garrus and Bailey could hear looking towards the door Thane and Kolyat had disappeared into for the last hour and a half.

"Kid's been through a lot." Bailey drew both Shepard's and Garrus' attention to him. "I ran some searches in the c-sec archives. About ten years ago, a lot of bad people were killed. Like someone was cleaning house. The prime suspect was a drell. He was never caught."

"Person like that seems dangerous, probably not smart to go after them." She said coolly taking a swig of her water. She knew Bailey knew it was Thane, the man wasn't stupid, and that's why he wasn't going to say anything, because he wasn't stupid.

"Someone has too, doesn't have to be me though." Bailey looked at her calmly.

She gave him a small smile that he returned. The door behind them opened and Thane walked through. She stood from her chair as he made this way towards them. "How did it go?" She spoke, concern in her voice.

"Our problems - they aren't something I can fix with a few words, but we are going to keep talking. See how things go." He looked at her, he seemed just as tired as she was, but relived and pleased as he could be about the outcome of the mission.

Bailey hated to bring the man bad news but he still had a job to do, "Your boy shot at some people. No one I feel sympathy for, but there it is."

Shepard knew they would get to this part eventually; she stepped forward, addressing Bailey, "I watch those people shake down businesses and threaten people. They're harder criminals than that boy ever could be."

"I can't just let him get away with it Shepard." Bailey told her; truly sorry he had to do this.

"I'm not asking for you to let him get away with it, Kolyat wants to make a difference and he has potential, let him do community service, let him work for you." She told him, placing both her hands on his desk and leaning forward.

"Community service for attempt of murder? What jury would agree with that?" He looked up at her like she was crazy.

"None that I have seen, that's why I need it to stay out of the judiciary. Strictly in C-sec." She pushed off the desk lightly, crossing her arms in front of her, leaning back on her right leg.

Bailey gave a short laugh and stood from his seat, "Interesting, I'll think about it." He turned to Thane shaking his hand.

"Thank you Captain." Thane shook the man's hand gratefully.

He then turned towards Shepard shaking hers, "Keep safe Commander." He shook Garrus' hand as well before turning back to his seat.

"Thanks Bailey. Oh and I had one more thing to ask you." Shepard told him.

"Shoot." He said.

"I'm trying to look for a local forger, goes by the name of Fade." She explained.

"Yeah I know him. Works with the Blue Suns, been giving the network hell for years." Bailey sighed.

"Where can we find him?" Garrus asked darkly.

"If I knew that, he would be in a cell. Best I can do is put you on the trail. There's a warehouse in the market place, some of Fades contacts work out of there, go ask them some questions. Gently of course" He told them.

"Thanks, I'll do that." She nodded at him. "We'll start first thing tomorrow Garrus." She looked at him, hoping that would be ok.

The dark look that had come over him softened and he nodded to the Commander in agreement.

"See you around Bailey." She told him, turning around to leave.

"Hey Commander," He called.

She twisted around to look at him.

"Nice tattoos." He smirked, pushing a button on his omni tool causing a rippling effect on his forearm, he had the same simple Roman style cross on his arm that Shepard did. She still had only half her armor on, Garrus and her had sent the other half back to the ship while waiting for Thane, so pretty much all her tattoos where showing. She laughed and continued on her way. She liked him, he was a good guy.

"What was that about?" Garrus asked confused.

"Nothing. Just a way of showing he would help me and we are friends. Back in the Reds when we wanted to show respect or a willingness to be friends to another gang we would point out something that we shared in common, could be cloths, tattoos, haircut, jewelry, anything. It's kind of like an introduction before being allowed to speak. It was a gang code that everyone knew. I'm pretty sure Bailey ran with some gang back on Earth before becoming any kind of law enforcement." She explained.

"What about rival gangs you shared similarities with?" Thane asked.

"If we saw them, we would beat the hell out of them and one of us would steal it or cut it off them. I had a friend get jumped by some guys because he had the same piercing as one of them. They ripped them out and left him there on the street passed out. That incident started a big war." Shepard told them with a sigh, getting in the driver's seat of the car rubbing her face with her gloved hands. "Yeah, I really don't miss those days." She started the car.

"Is that why you had that burn down your arm, because someone went after you?" Garrus asked, his voice rising a bit.

The Commander snorted as she drove off to the docking bay, back to the ship, "Yeah. I used to wear a red bandana around my arm, another gang used to have the same colors as us and we would fight over who got to wear them. So three of the female members cornered a friend of mine and me and beat us down in the alleys. One held me down why the other burnt the bandana on my arm, hurt like hell."

"You lived a horrible life Shepard." Garrus mumbled. Then spoke in a less serious voice, "Hard to believe taking on the Collectors is an improvement."

Shepard laughed, "I know huh?"

* * *

They were finally back on the ship and walking through the CIC. Garrus walked straight for the elevator, telling both the Commander and Thane he would see them tomorrow. Shepard lingered back saying she needed to check her messages and Thane went to the lab to get some medi gel from Mordin for his leg. Luckily, the bullet had gone right through so they didn't have to dig it out. So Garrus headed down to the crew deck alone, realizing they were both just stalling because they wanted time alone.

"Have fun." He called to them smugly before the doors closed.

_Asshole, _Shepard thought. She turned to the terminal while Thane went to get the medi gel. There was some junk mail and a sorry note from the Illusive man about Pragia, she wasn't really paying attention, she was eyeing the door to the lab, waiting for Thane to walk out. _How long did it take to get medi gel? _"Hey Kelly, is there anything I should know?" she asked her yeomen.

"Nothing right now Commander." She said in her normally cheery voice.

Thane walked out of the lab, no longer limping but he was shaking his head and wore an amused expression on his face. He walked over to them gave a small bow to Kelly that made her blush.

"Kelly unless the ship is on fire or someone is dying don't have anyone disturb me, I need some rest." Shepard rubbed her eyes and turned for the elevator, with Thane in tow.

"Yes Commander." Kelly saluted and turned back to her duties.

In the elevator Thane made to press the button for the crew deck but Maria set her hand on his, stopping him. She pressed the button for the captain's cabin without looking at him, then leaned back on the wall and closed her eyes to the ceiling. "I don't want to be alone" She whispered.

"I had no intentions of leaving you Siha." He whispered back, saying the nickname to her once again.

She rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes to him, "I think my translator just glitches, what did you say?"

She gave him a small smile, which he returned, hearing the same words he had spoken to her so long ago on Illium when they had been staring at the sunset together, "Siha. Someday I'll tell you what it means."

"Oh, so it's gonna be like that then?" She pushed off the wall and walked in front of him.

"Yes." He came a little closer to her, leaving barely an inch of room between them.

They stared at one another, searching the others eyes. Maria knew that she would never find another man like him, one that made her feel the way he made her feel. _I love him, _she thought, not holding back her feelings any longer, she had known she was falling hard for him the first time they kissed."_Mi amor" _She breathed.

Thane tilted his head in confusion, his brow ridges knitting together. "What does that mean?" He asked almost in a hypnotic voice.

The doors swished open, Shepard smiled at him, "Maybe someday I'll tell you what it means." She turned and walked into her rooms, leaving Thane to stare after her.

_I can't believe I fell for that, _he mentally kicked himself before walking in behind her.

**_Review!_**


	12. The Shower Invite

**Yesterday, I did not have a lot of time on my hands and I am sorry for that. But I hope you like the two chapters anyways. Much love to those of you reviewing and putting the story on favorite and alert! Big thanks to my beta!**

Shepard walked down the stairs to the couches in her sitting area, taking off her gloves as she went and tossing them into the corner of the room. She sat back on the couch resting her arms on her knees, watching Thane enter through the door. She watched as he took in her room, his stoic face giving nothing away to what he might be thinking.

His gaze turned to her empty fish tank that took up a good portion of the wall, then turned to where her desk sat, admiring the collection of ships she had. She had everything organized and spotless, probably by habit from her time in the military. He noticed as he descended the stairs the over turned holo frame on her desk. _I wonder what that is. _

Shepard's eyes never left him as he walked down the stairs and to the adjacent couch next to the one she was sitting on. Thane watched her with his ever present unreadable mask in place, sitting with his back straight, hands on either side of him.

Shepard quirked an eyebrow at him, "You know, I was this close to shooting your son in the knee caps today." She held up her hand, leaving about a centimeter of space between her index finger and thumb. "When I entered that room he decided to hide, and the first thing that went through my mind was how I was going to apologies to you for putting him in the hospital after the beat down I was going to give him." She said, smiling at the memory of what she wanted to do, not sorry for confessing it to Thane at all. _Kolyat would have deserved it._

"I am relieved it did not come to that, Siha," he murmured. To someone who hadn't spent the amount of time she had with him, he would have sounded emotionless, but to Shepard's ears, the amusement in his voice was clear.

"He is lucky he hid." She grumbled as she stood up and activated the button that would allow her to take off the lower half of her armor. She stepped out of her boots, her bare feet hitting the cool floor. She walked forward and stood in front of him once she was a free of the armor; Thane looked up at her with his big bottomless black eyes sitting there motionless, waiting. She smirked at him before straddling his lap, forcing him to relax into the back of the couch, his hands coming up to rest on the back of her thighs. She leaned forward on her hands as she placed them on either side of his head on the back of the couch. She lowered her face close to his, "Would you like to do something for me." She breathed against his mouth making his pulse pick up.

Thane felt a pleasant chill run down his spine, he was having a hard time concentrating, he would say yes to anything she asked of him right now, "Whatever you wish." He breathed in a slightly strained voice.

"Stay here tonight." She leaned closer, nuzzling his neck as her lips ghosting over the frills on his throat.

Thane closed his eyes as he clenched his jaw, trying to keep himself under control, "I will, if it pleases you Siha."

She returned her gaze to his as she pulled up slightly, "It would, but I want it to please you as well."

Thane swallowed, his hands applying the slightest bit of pressure on the hold he had on her legs, "Nothing would please me more tonight." He answered; his gravelly voice sounding much deeper, sending a shiver of delight down her spin.

Shepard gave him a small smile as she rested her head against his forehead, "Thank you." She moved to kiss the octagon on his head, his eyes closing again at the wonderful feel of her lips on his skin. Maria moved off him as she pulled up from her kiss, standing again and moving to her dresser. Thane watched her walk across the room, the sway of her hips causing him to dig his nails into the couch in order to stay put. She pulled out a change of clothes that Thane couldn't make out as she held them to her chest. Her movement around the room took her up the short steps to the second landing, but she turned back to him at the top, resting a hand on the wall of her ship case as she addressed him, "I need to take a shower. You can sit here and wait if you want. Or you could take a shower too . . . whichever you prefer." She gave him a small smirk before entering the bathroom and closing the door behind her, the sound of the water turning on was heard from behind the door.

Thane leapt from his seat as soon as the door had shut, not being able to take sitting still any longer. _She is going to drive me to an earlier grave. _He walked quickly up the steps, staring at the bathroom door. He knew she had meant for the last part to sound like an offer, but he wasn't sure if it was a real one or she had just been trying to tease him. He clinched and unclenched his hands repeatedly, a growl forming in the back of his throat as he paced back and forth. _You know what will happen if you go in there and now because of Mordin, you know no harm will come to her, so what are you waiting for? _The evil voice inside his head taunted him. _Don't! Don't you dare go in there! Do not ruin this by taking it to fast. If you are going to lay with her it will be because she made the first move, _good Thane yelled at him. _I am pretty damn sure that's what just happened, she wants you Thane, take the chance and make her yours, _evil Thane retorted. _It wasn't clear enough!_ _Gods now he was arguing with himself__, this woman is ruining me. I have to get out of here before I break through that door and dragged her out soaking wet and toss her on the bed and . . . stop it damn it. _Thane walked out the door and into the elevator as quickly as his feet would carry him, desperate to get as far away from the welcoming sounds of the shower his Siha was currently having. "I'm going to go take a very cold shower, get food for us to eat and come back up and have a nice quite evening with my Siha" he told himself out loud_, _his face set in determination as the doors closed.

On the other side of the doors, a grinning Shepard was listening to him mutter to himself. She had known he would be too much of a gentleman to come in, and if she had been wrong well that was even better. "If he thinks he is having a quiet evening, he has another thing coming" She said to herself, retreating under the warm spray of the shower, a plan forming in her head.

**Poor Thane, all he is trying to do is have a nice evening with Shepard. Is that too much to ask? Of course you stupid gorgeous drell!**


	13. Male Bonding

Thane walked through the crew deck, stopping in front of Gardner as the cook put the finishing touches on the crew's dinner tonight.

"Hey Thane!" The cook greeted in a booming voice, his usual friendly smile in place. "What can I do for you? Little early for you to be taking your meal isn't it?"

"Yes it is, but Shepard and I will be eating together tonight, so I thought I would come down and acquire some food for us now." Thane explained to him, hands clasped behind his back, surveying the big pot in front of him.

"Oh. The Commander and you got a dinner date tonight, I understand." Gardner gave him a wink as he began to load up a tray with two bowls of his calamari gumbo and began to slice a loaf of bread.

"In a manner of speaking," Thane responded. "Can you please set them aside in a stasis box; I will only be a moment."

"Can do Thane, they will be right here for you when you come back." Gardner laid two slices of bread for both the plates on either side of the two bowls. Then he began to cube some fruit, knowing how much both the Commander and Thane loved fruit.

Thane thanked the cook and moved on to his rooms in life support, grabbing some fresh cloths, not his normal leathers but his night cloths. A pair of cotton gray pants and a sleeveless gray top with a very low v neck that ended at the bottom of his chest. He then returned out to the hallway to make his way to the men's bathroom. Inside, the furthest wall from the door housed the many rows of shower heads, only a long half metal barrier stood about four feet from the wall of shower heads, blocking the washing area from view of anyone walking around the corner and into the room. The wall, which only reached about mid-stomach, gave some form of privacy to the person showering, unless another crew member wanted to shower at the same time, then there was no privacy to be had behind the barrier. Thane had been forced to get used to the idea of showering in front of the other crewmen during his time on the Normandy. Being a private man by nature and after ten years of virtually no outside contact other than his informants and targets solidified his discomfort of no privacy and made adjusting to the his new environment even more difficult. The rest of the men didn't seem to have a problem, all of them having former military careers or accustom to working on a military style ship. _And to think, I could be up there with Shepard right now, you're a genius Thane. _Thane rolled his eyes at himself, an action he had picked up from Shepard. He quickly stripped down, just thankful no one was there, and went past the wall to turn on the spray to cold. He shivered as the water cascaded down his face, past his neck and down his back. As he washed, he allowed his mind to wonder, his perfect memory drawing a picture of his Siha. Thane began to imagine what she would look like under the water next to him, her smooth sun kissed skin glistening from the water pouring down her lithe body. It wasn't long before he began to feel a stirring in his loins, trying to banish the thoughts from his head quickly as he realized what was happening, cursing his body for betraying him. _This was supposed to calm me down! _

Behind him, the doors swished open and the one person he cared for least on the ship walked around the corner, Jacob. Ever since there fight they had been civil to each other, and by civil, he meant they kept away from each other at all costs and never looked or spoke to one another. Jacob was beging a relationship with Kasumi yes and everyone could tell they cared for one another very much, but Thane still pissed Jacob off and the soldier was still a little bitter about losing to him and being rejected by Shepard.

Garrus followed behind the man, both were laughing and shirtless, they must have come from a sparring match. Jacob stopped when he saw Thane, but Garrus pushed past him and greeted the drell.

"Hey Thane. Glad you decided to wash up because I was about to say." He chuckled, undressing behind the wall, thankfully giving Thane's body enough time to return to normal, before stepping behind it and turning on the water one shower head down from where Thane was. "Those Krogan must have given you quite the work out for you to smell that bad." He joked.

Thane stared at him for a couple more moments before answering, "No worse than you usually do, Garrus." Thane gave the turian a grin, before continuing to wash; ignoring Jacob who had finally came up to the showers, keeping to the other side of Garrus, away from Thane.

Garrus gave out a loud laugh, "I didn't know you had a sense of humor. That's good; you're going to need it with Maria."

Jacob stiffened next to Garrus, casing Thane to smirk in dark amusement.

"Why would the drell need a sense of humor for my battlemaster?" Grunt came around the corner looking at them with a confused face that didn't seem right for the big Krogan.

"What didn't hear Grunt? Thane is your new step daddy." Garrus told him over his shoulder, causing Thane to choke out a surprised laugh. Jacob couldn't even hold back his own chuckle.

Grunt stepped on the other side of Thane turning on the shower head, towering over all three men. "What? You are my battlemaster's mate?" Grunt came close to him, giving Thane a once over, causing the assassin to grow uncomfortable with how close the naked tank bred was to him.

Garrus and Jacob were leaning into the wall in front of them, trying to catch their breaths from how much they were laughing, tears forming in their eyes.

"Yes." Thane answered, he didn't want to make Grunt mad and have him charge him, it would upset Shepard if he was forced to hurt the boy, but he wasn't backing down either.

Grunt seemed to accept this and turned to begin showering.

"Awww, he likes you." Garrus cooed.

Thane gave him a dark look before shutting off the spray and moving to the rack of towels to dry off. _That is enough male bonding for one day, thank you. _Thane quickly pulled on his pants and was in the process of putting on his shirt when Zaeed walked around the corner, he stopped when he saw Garrus and Jacob still hunched over recovering from their fits of laughter.

"What did I miss?" The mercenary asked as he began to undress. Thane wasn't the most modest man in the galaxy, that was obvious from is clothes, which left little to the imagination, but if he had to see every male squad members penis in one night he was going to go mad.

Thane threw his shirt over his head and clasped his gold necklace around his neck, "Good evening." He bowed to everyone and made for the door.

Thane waved them all a hurried goodnight, but before he could reach the door, Zaeed made a snide comment to his back, "Must be lacking in the lower regions, hey Krios? Can't stand being in a men's washroom too long without blushing like a girl."

Thane narrowed his eyes as he turned back around, the taunting grin never leaving Zaeed's face, "I suppose the company of naked men pleases you more than the company of a beautiful woman Zaeed. As for me, I would much prefer to spend my night with Shepard." The other men gave out _ooos _as they watched the assassin challenge the mercenary. "And as for 'lacking in the lower region',as you put it. Well I have never had any complaints before Mr. Massani."

Zaeed raised a brow, giving the drell a slow smirk as he spoke, "I'll be sure to ask Shepard later, she is an honest woman, she won't lie."

Thane was about to slam the man against the wall for that comment, but Garrus stepped between them, seeing the murderous look in Thane's eyes, "Wow! Ok, Thane, he is only joking, just some locker room banter is all." He looked at Thane hoping he would understand.

"Actually, medical scans done on Thane show above average length for male reproductive organ for the common male drell. Average length about seven inches, Thane exceeds this by two inches. Suspect he is fully _equipped_, to please any female of any species." Mordin stood by the wall, surprising the rest of the men at his sudden appearance. Thane took his gaze off of Mordin to look back at Zaeed, giving him smug grin, speaking in a deadly icy tone, "Like I said Mr. Massani. I have never received any complaints." He tilted his head in a small bow and left the bathroom quickly.

"You realize he could have killed you right?" Garrus turned to Zaeed, the pair making their way to the shower wall.

"I could take him." Zaeed said confidently.

"Oh yeah, like you took me?" Jacob asked. "Krios ended up kicking my ass, and you know it's harder to fight someone without the intent to kill them, actual sparring takes skill and discipline, killing someone is easier, no holding back. He would have killed me in seconds if he wanted to, and he can do the same to you." Jacob warned him.

"I would be worried about Shepard coming after you. Pray he doesn't repeat what you said to her." Grunt grumbled.

"I imagine violent response from Shepard, if she finds out." Mordin commented next to him.

"Ah, hell," Zaeed groaned, causing the others to laugh at his despair.


	14. Sensitive Areas

Thane picked up the tray that Gardner had laid out for him, thanking the mess sergeant as he returned to the elevator, heading back up to the loft.

"It should be a sin to look that good." Kelly murmured, gazing at Thane's retreating back, giving a longing look to the drell.

"He is definitely a handsome young man," Chakwas agreed beside her.

"For a drell, I suppose he is." Miranda shrugged at the two women.

Kelly turned in her seat to stare at her in disbelief, "For any species! What I would give to have a man like him."

* * *

Thane stood in the elevator, waiting for the long ride to end.

He really hated to admit it, but he was a bit nervous about this night. He wanted things to go well and please his Siha.

He remembered the first time he had spent the night with Irikah, they had gone to the dance club for the first time where they had shared some drinks, ate dinner, talked, danced for some time, then he had taken her home. He had no intentions of staying, he had just walked her home and kissed her goodnight, but she had grabbed the front of his jacket and stopped him.

"_Stay with me tonight." _she had whispered. _Just like Shepard. _Thane closed his eyes and clinched his jaw, trying not to slip into uncontrolled memories. She had taken him inside and led him to her living room; they had watched a vid together. When it was over he had sat there, stiff, not knowing what he was supposed to do.

Thane smiled when he pictured the amused look she had given him, before taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom. That was the first time they had been together, it had been their fifth date. He wasn't sure how long humans waited to have sex, for drell it varied depending on how close you were or if the relationship was serious, for Irikah and him they had been in love and sleeping with one another after five dates wasn't uncommon but not something you wanted your parents knowing. Irikah's father had scared the shit out of him when he had first met the man. Him, an assassin who could kill the older drell with no trouble at all, but he had been nervous knowing he was sleeping with his daughter and the man might find out.

He did not want to move to fast with Shepard, he didn't want to ruin anything, fear of losing his new Siha was too great and they were already putting themselves in danger every day. One of them could be killed at any time and the thought of her dying scared him more than he liked to admit. He had never known fear like this other than when he had met Irikah and when Kolyat was born. Love made you know fear that others could not even imagine, fear of losing the people you care for most, fear of never seeing them again, fear of hurting them or seeing them in pain.

Thane didn't want to dwell on the mistakes he had made in the past. It pained him too much to think of the things he had done and tonight was supposed to be a night for his Siha and him to enjoy. He would always love Irikah and never forget her, also he would never forgive himself for letting her die, but the gods had seen reason to bless him with another Siha and he would not screw that up again.

Thane glanced down at his omini tool remembering the information Mordin had said he had sent to him. He set the tray down and stopped the elevator; he opened up the message, hoping it could tell him something about human courting customs. Thane's eyes grew wide in shock at what the scientist had passed on to him. _If Mordin wasn't a salarian, I would say he was a bit sexually disturbed. _The whole message was detailed instructions on how to please a female human sexually. There was a diagram of a naked human woman, pointing out the different erogenous areas and how to stimulate them. Thane was pretty sure the vid links at the bottom where pornographic sites, three of them were from Fornax. _I'm going to kill that salarian. _

This was the last thing Thane needed to see before going into that room, he had just taken a cold shower for that very reason. Thane caught a section titled, 'Performing oral sex on your human partner', before he closed the message and omini tool quickly. Thane pressing the button to resume his elevator ride to the loft, picking up the tray of food. _The gods must be toying with me tonight. _Thane had had several sexual encounters before meeting Irikah, two being asari and three drell, but he had never developed any meaningful feelings for the women, only taking pleasure in their bodies and them in his. There had only been two women in his entire life that had truly awoken him and could call his heart their own, and he had failed one of them miserably, the other resided in the loft above him. _I cannot lose her, I love her. _Thane was just as startled as Maria at his own confession, but not at all displeased or unsure. The ease at which he could admit those words was freeing and he knew that he possessed something special in his life in regards to Shepard and he would not spoil it by taking this night to fast. Thane had that same determined look in his eyes that he had left with; trying not to think about the message Mordin had sent him as the doors opened and allowed him to step through them.

* * *

Twenty five minutes earlier . . .

Shepard stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself and one in her hair. She took her clothes off the toilet seat and held them up at eye level, giving them a scrutinizing look. _God let this be a good idea._ She got dressed and applied her normal light make up before leaving the bathroom, brushing out her damp hair as she went.

"EDI. Where is Thane?" Shepard called to the ceiling.

"Mr. Krios is currently in the men's bathroom on the crew deck showering Shepard." EDI informed her.

"Good. Tell me when he leaves please. Also, can you dim these lights and don't let anyone but Thane up here for the rest of the night and don't let anyone bother us unless it's important. Like the ship is under attack important, got it?" She put the brush down and moved to a cooler that was under her desk.

"Understood Commander, logging you out," EDI dimmed the lights before logging off.

Maria unlocked the cooler and pulled out a long thin bottle with alien writing on it and two wine glasses. She had had Garrus pick this up for her why he waited for Thane and her to come back with Kolyat. _I really hope he likes this, not sure what he prefers to drink, if he even drinks alcohol at all. Probably something I should have asked him. _Shepard had found the drell beverage on the externet one night, thinking it would be nice to have with a night with Thane; it was supposed to be the equivalent to human wine. She filled the two glasses with the sweet smelling, light blue liquid. Maria paused as she stared at the wine, shrugging before taking a drink from the bottle. _Mmmm tasty, _she thought, while licking her lips of the sweet liquid, she set the bottle down on the table with the two glasses. Maria turned to look at the clock on her night stand, it had been fifteen minutes and Thane still wasn't out of his shower.

Shepard remembered her taking with Mordin before Thane's mission, about the drell and her relationship, and decided to take a look at the information the scientist had said he had sent her. She walked over to her computer and clicked on the info that Mordin had sent her about drell. What came up on the screen made her choke out a shocked cough.

There was a fully naked drell with similar coloring to Thane, only the difference was the green of his scales fade into different shades of blues causing a kind of rainbow effect between green and blue. The blue around his midsection reminded her of the blue scales Kolyat had. _And I'm going to stop that thought right there. Picturing my boyfriend's son naked is not something I want to be doing. _On the diagram there was different section of the drell marked. The highlighted areas explained to her how sensitive the region was and how to stimulate it. Apparently, the frills on their necks were very sensitive, causing arousal and pleasure to build up if kissed, licked, sucked or bitten. _That explains his strong reaction when I was kissing his neck. _She moved her eyes lower on the diagram, drell had no nipples, but the areas around this drell's stomach had lines of bright red outlining his much defined abs. 'The bright colored areas on male drell are areas hypersensitive to stimuli. The coloring of these areas will range from many different types, but will be the brightest on the body. This is opposite of female drell. These areas will cause varying effects of pleasure or if damaged can cause pain. These zones on drell also range from a number of different areas on the body, the neck and reproductive areas are the only two places that all drell share the same bright markings, other sensitive spots will be different or similar for each drell' the caption read. Shepard remembered seeing a hint of red right at the lining of Thane's pants, on both sides of his hips, the same color as the red on his neck.

Shepard moved the screen down lower, reaching the spot that she was most nervous about, and interested in. _What the fuck?_ 'The drell penis averages about seven inches in length; every male has different shaped ridges along the shaft of the penis, and can stay erect for many hours even after multiple ejaculations. *Warning: Ingestion of fluid will cause mild to severe hallucinations, usually lasting three to six hours durations depending on human. Skin to skin and oral contact without the ingestion of semen is significantly less, though a small chance that mild hallucinations may occur is still possible. Fortunately, partner will adapt to hallucinogenic effects with prolonged and repeated contact with drell partner. Pills and ointments can be given for side effects of rashes and hallucinations so as to speed up immunity and ease symptoms.*'

"Shepard, Thane Krios has exited the showers and is now on his way up to your cabin." EDI's voice rang out, startling the Commander.

"Thank you. EDI, do you know if Mordin sent any ointments or pills up to my room?" Shepard asked.

"Yes Shepard. Doctor Solis sent up a package containing lotions and a bottle of pills for effects of drell skin contact and hallucinogenic. They are in your top desk drawer." EDI told her before logging off for the final time.

Shepard logged off the message and turned the computer off. Then she pulled back in her chair just enough to pull her desk drawer open, inside was the ointments and pills. The lotion was meant for after the rash had developed so she wouldn't need that, she also wasn't sure she would need it at all, she hadn't developed a rash from the skin contact they have had so far, but they also hadn't done anything to extreme so she would keep them, just in case. Shepard took the pills out of the drawer and held them up so she could read the instructions. 'Take before sexual contact with partner, will help reduce symptoms of hallucinations, itching or chafing.' Shepard read. _I'm not sure if I should take this. He may not even want to do anything with me tonight, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't going to try to get those pants off him tonight. _

She had already made her choice when she decided to ask him to stay the night. After the mission she had felt emotionally drained; those weren't pleasant memories she had told his son, and she hadn't wanted to be alone. Also, she couldn't help the flood of emotion that came when she admitted to herself that she loved him, she wanted to take this to the next level and she was sure that he wanted to as well. Maria wasn't naïve by any means and knew when a man wanted her. But Thane was too much of a gentleman to push things without her giving him a clear sign that's what she wanted, that's how she knew he wouldn't get in the shower with her, but she used it to her advantage. She knew what she wanted tonight but she wanted him to want it as well. She also didn't want to take it too fast because she wasn't sure how long drell waited to have sex. But she saw the look in his eyes when they were together and when she had teased him, that look meant he wanted her.

"Here goes nothing." She spoke out loud before popping a yellow pill into her mouth and swallowing it. She put the pills away and slid the drawer closed just as she heard the elevator doors swing open. Shepard stood from her chair and walked over to the center of the second landing, facing the door as Thane walked in with a tray of food.

* * *

Thane walked through the door, looking down at the plates of food in his hands, checking if everything was there. _Crap. I forgot drinks, I'll just go back down and . . . Oh my gods. _Thane looked up at the vision in front of him, stopping in his tracks, his mouth hanging open. _Arashu be praised, and guild me through this night._

**Please, don't kill me. I just wanted to get something up and I promise the next chapter will be up tonight, this is taking longer than I thought. Again you should all worship the very ground my beta walks on because she did an awesome job helping me with this. Hope you all like, and reviews really do help me post faster.**

**P.S If your plan to kill me was to send Thane after me, I am totally cool with that =)**


	15. What You Mean To Me

**It is finally done! This chapter is 25 pages long and took forever. You need to thank my beta for baring with me in this and I hope you all like how it came out. Keep in mind I have never written a sex scene and also, if you didn't know this is my first real story soooo hope you all are liking it. I will be putting a warning up for those of you who do not wish to read the sex part, when you see *Warning do not continue* that means you don't have to keep reading to know anything important. I will post a similar warning when you can continue. I TAKE NO RESPONSIABLITY FOR SOMEONE BEING OFFENDED OR A YOUNGER READER READING THIS, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED AND THIS STORRY IS APPOROPRITY RATED FOR THIS CONTENT. Thank you for your wonderful reviews and I would love to read more, especially on this chapter. **

Thane almost dropped the tray he had in his hands. His eyes ran over Shepard's body in wide eye shock, taking in her night entire. She wore a black silk robe, that seemed to be shifting from red and then back to black to Thane's modified eyes. The robe had thick gold trim around the sleeves and bottom, and stopped about mid thigh showing off her smooth tan legs. Half of the gun holster tattoos were peaking out of the bottom of it and the feathers were clear on her ankle. She had the robe closed so he couldn't see what was underneath, but the neck line was low enough to see the top of her breasts that he actually found alluring. Drell women didn't have breast and he had never been very interested in them when seeing humans and asari, but he had felt how soft they were pressed against his chest during the moments they had together and wanted to feel them under his hands. Her gold cross, that was ever present around her neck, matching the gold trim of her robe. Her hair was loose around her shoulders, still slightly damp from her shower making it look darker than usual. The dim lighting in the room and the lights from the fish tank caused shadows to cast over her and the material of the robe to shine, she looked beautiful, dangerous and seductive.

Shepard smiled at the shocked look on Thane's face when he walked through the door. He probably was expecting her to be in her normal black sweat pants and t-shirt that she wore at night around the ship. She had wanted to look good for him tonight so she had worn the present Latika had sent her as a welcome back to the land of the living present. She would be seeing her next week for the first time through vid chat, so she would thank her profusely for the robes then. While Thane stared at her, taking in her appearance, she did the same to him. _He looks good in the baggy clothes theme, but I still love the whole tight leather get up. _She looked at his still exposed chest with the low v-neck, to his sleeveless black striped arms all the way down to his bare feet. _Huh. That just seems weird to see him without boots. He looks cute and vulnerable. _She looked back up to his face, he still had his mouth opened and was staring at her legs with a very heated but nervous look. She smiled at him and walked over to him, noticing that he never took his eyes of her swaying hips until she was right in front of him.

She took pity on him and spoke first, "This looks wonderful Thane, thank you for bring us dinner." She looked up at him wondering if he would ever speak.

Thane swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, "I…you…It was no trouble Siha." Thane finally whisper, his voice deeper than usual.

Shepard was trying not to laugh at the look on the poor man's face, he looked so lost and overwhelmed that she almost wanted to say she was sorry; almost. Maria took the tray from him, "Come on, let's eat. We both had one hell of a day." She turned her back on him and lead the way back to the couches, she was very aware of Thane staring at her ass as she walked, she had to bite on her lower lip to keep from laughing.

Thane couldn't move for a few seconds, his eyes on her backside, covered by the silky material of the robe, shifting as she walked. _I'm in trouble. _He could feel his desire building and feared if he didn't control his body soon, his arousal would be very evident through his cotton pants. Thane called on every ounce of self control he could muster and moved forward, following Shepard.

Maria set the tray of food down and picked up the two glasses of alcohol, she turned to Thane, who was right behind her, stiff and ridged. _Okay, he really needs this. _"Here, I had Garrus get this while he waited at the Zakara wards. I looked it up on the externet, it's supposed to be a good drell alcohol, kind of like wine."

Thane took the glass, finally loosening up a bit from curiosity of what Shepard had bought. He smelled the drink and took a sip, he smiled at the taste, _Mehla. _"My mother would send this to me when I was younger and the hanar were training me. She told me to have a glass every morning, and she would do the same, it was her way of reminding me every time I woke up that she loved me and missed me." Thane told her, a small smile on his lips as he looked at the contents of the glass.

Shepard looked up at him, her lips parted in wonder at the small story, just picturing him younger and what his mother might have looked like was amazing to her. It was little things like that she wanted to know about him, that she loved to learn.

Thane looked down at her face, her full lips parted in a slight smile as she listened. He bent down and captured her lips in a tender kiss, tasting the sweet liquid on her mouth and tongue. He pulled back slightly, letting his lips linger over hers, "Thank you Siha. This is… spectacular, as are you."

Now it was Shepard's turn to swallow nervously, her cheeks tinted pink and she look up at him through her thick lashes, "You're welcome. I just wanted to give you a nice night." She murmured pulling away from him more and took his larger hand in hers, steering him to the couch to sit next to her. She pressed the top button on the clear stasis pod and it opened up so she could take the steaming bowls out off the tray, she handed one to Thane and took the other for herself. She leaned back on the arm of the couch, facing Thane with her legs stretched out to the side of him. "You took a while to get up here?"

Thane gave out a light chuckle and rested his elbow on his knees with the bowl between his legs, "The other male squad members decided to shower at the same time I was. They delayed me in my return to you." He told her taking a bite of his dinner.

Shepard leaned over to grab a slice of bread from the table, revealing more of her chest to him. _Damn her. _"How did they delay you?" Shepard asked in amusement, dipping the bread in the bowl and taking a bite.

Thane was tempted to tell her what Zaeed had said just watch her kick the mercenary out the nearest air lock, but he wouldn't, he wasn't going to let Zaeed Massani get to him. "They just started to joke around, apparently I'm Grunt's new stepfather." Thane took a bite of the bread he had just put in his bowl and watched with amused eyes as Shepard started coughing, she had swallowed wrong when she heard what he had said.

"Excuse me, you're what?" She asked hoarsely, taking a drink of the wine to clear her air way.

Thane told her the story of what Garrus had said and Grunts reaction. He enjoyed watching her laugh, tears forming in her eyes. They continued talking for the next hour. Finishing their dinner and enjoying each other's company. Shepard told him the story of Grunt waking up and slamming her against the wall and Garrus being Archangel, she even told him past stories of the old Normandy crew. Thane told her about growing up on Kahje, about his training and the other children there with him and the times he was able to spend with his mother, father and younger brother.

"You have a brother? Do you still talk with him?" she asked curiously, looking up into his face from her spot between his legs, her back resting against his chest.

"I have only spoken to my brother through externet messages since I saw him last, he was one of the family members I left Kolyat in the care of. I would check on Kolyat from time to time." Thane bowed his head, closing his eyes in shame at what he had done to his son.

Shepard saw the sadness settling in and turned around in her spot between his legs, moving to straddle his lap, she cupped his face so he would be forced to look at her, "Thane listen to me. The past is the past and there is no going back, but you learn from it, you move forward, better, stronger and smarter." Thane stared into her eyes, she was no longer Shepard, the women he was sharing a nice evening with, she was the Commander, Savior of the Citadel, lone survivor of Akuze and their only hope of defeating the reapers. He was rememorized by her passion, her ability to draw the attention of anyone and make them listen to what she had to say. "You loved your family Thane, and you still love them, you've proved that when you went after your son. Then there is Irikah, you will never forget Irikah and you never should, as is right for anyone who loves their spouse. She would want you to move on since she could no longer be with her family. She would want you to be happy and continue your life building a relationship with the family you still have left. Yours and Irikah's son is still here Thane, and he needs you, Kolyat needs you. You have him back _mi amor_, that's huge, focus on that and live for your son, to not only do better for him but Irikah as well. This is your forgiveness, your redemption, this is how you make the world a brighter place. By being the father you couldn't then, but now can be." Shepard paused, searching his eyes to see if he understood what she was saying to him, "There is a difference between making the world a brighter place and bringing brightness into the world, you and Irikah did that with Kolyat and now you are doing even more on this mission. Your gods have forgiven you Thane and I would bet my life that Irikah has never blamed you for your mistakes, it's time you start to forgive yourself _mi amor. _Bring yourself some happiness and peace."

Shepard was a bit winded from her speech she had given and all the emotions that came with it. Her breath fanned his face, her mouth slightly open as her big green eyes searched his alien ones, her eyes shifting back and forth in anticipation for what he would say. Thane was awe struck, no one had ever had that much faith in him and acted as **his **protector.

He had called Irikah his Siha as well, she had awoken him from his battle sleep, showed him a world beyond his work and he had loved her for that. But that had not made her his protector, she had been his resurrection. She had never comforted him from the things he felt or saw, he had to comfort her from the only life he ever knew, the only life he knew how to live. He had never told her of how much pain he went through, or how it killed him he couldn't give her the life she deserved. She would have never been able to comfort him, and he was ok with that, he had been her rock, her Commander. But Irikah had been the protector of others, like the man she had shielded from his spotting laser, that was the reason he had fallen before her and begged her pardon, the reason he had needed to meet her, it's what made her his Siha.

Shepard, she was different. She was both, his protector and his resurrection. She stood as his shield when he needed her, she could handle the hard and dangerous life he led, she understood it, except it. This is what made them more suited then Irikah and he ever were, Shepard and him were worriers, protectors, and killers. That was the life they both led, the only one they knew and it was the life they loved. Thane had always told Irikah if he could, he would do something else, he would be happy to just live a quite life with her and his son, and he hadn't been lying; he would have been happy because she was happy. But it wouldn't be the life he wanted, a life he enjoyed because he wasn't being himself. He enjoyed the heavy weight of his sniper rifle, enjoyed the adrenalin rush from a battle, he enjoyed catching the bad guys and dealing out what they deserved. Killing was an art and he was a master. Shepard and him had that connection had that shared love and passion for the art, along with everything else that came with loving a person.

Thane looked at his Siha and knew that this was the women he wanted to spend what little time he had left with, he wanted to devote every moment, skill, and resource to her. He would do anything for his Siha, his Commander, his friend. _I love her with all that I am. _She had given him his son back, given him the chance at forgiveness and peace, he would never be able to repay her for all that she had done and never understand what he had done right to deserve her.

Maria was starting to worry, Thane had been silent for five minutes now, just staring at her. "Thane, are you ok?" She asked tentatively in a voice barely above a whisper.

Thane closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before reopening them, stretching his arm to set his glass down on the table, while still keeping Maria on his lap. He then looked back into Shepard's face, same unreadable expression on his face. Thane reached a scaled hand up to her face and stroked her face tenderly, he noticed she this did not relax her at all; she was still unsure of how he was feeling. Thane gave her a small smile and chuckled lightly, "Never better Siha."

Shepard visibly relaxed releasing the breath she had been holding and turning into the hand on her cheek, kissing his wrist as she did. "You had me worried there."

"Forgive me Siha, it is just - I have never had anyone comfort me, I never wanted it nor did I think I needed it or deserved it. But you give it so easily and so willingly. I was overwhelmed by your words and passion." Thane explained in a voice thick with emotion, his eyes shining with admiration and affection.

Shepard gave him one of her amazing smiles and leaned her forehead against his, her mouth an inch away from his as she whispered to him, "_Es mi amor y mi vida. Yo siempre estaré aquí con usted." _

"I would update my translator to be able to understand that, if I didn't love hearing you speak it so much." Thane murmured against her lips, his eyes half lidded in desire.

"Is that so, Sere Krios?" Shepard thickened her accent, making his name sound exotic to him.

"Yes it is." He whispered huskily, before meeting her lips in a slow, sensual kiss. His hands were buried in her hair and hers were flat against his chest. She could feel the steady thump of his heart beneath her hands.

The kissed began to grow more heated and before they knew it Thane had his shirt off and he had her up against the glass ship case with her legs around his waist. Thane began to kiss along her jaw and down her neck, taking Maria's breath away.

With a very impressive show of control and skill, Maria was able to get out a few words, "Bed….right now."

Thane grudgingly stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. "Siha…I…I did not intend to go too far with this, I do not wish to take advantage of the situation and push you too far." He released to hold he had on the back of her thighs and set her down, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he leaned on the glass case behind her with his other hand.

_Take advantage of? Push to far? Was he stupid? I'm the one trying to get him in the bed and he thinks he is the one taking advantage of the situation. I have to find out if this is a drell thing or a Thane thing. Either way those pants are coming off tonight! _She stared up at him in disbelief, "Thane, are you serious? I just told you to get in my bed and you think you are the one pressuring me?" She stated incredulously.

"Well… I just…," Thane looked down at his feet, looking like a child being scolded by his mother.

She would have laughed at how cute he looked if she wasn't so frustrated with the lack of movement to the bed area. "Thane, will this make things a little more clear?" Shepard removed the sash from her waist letting the robe fall down her shoulders to pool around her feet. She thought his eyes were about to bulge out of his head.

_This is just not fucking fair. Why do these women do this to me? _The girls from the school had attacked him, Irikah had attacked him and now Shepard was doing the same thing. _Is this a test, am I supposed to resist this, because you're not making it fucking easy? _Shepard wore nothing but lacy underwear that could not justifiably be given the title; due to the fact that it only covered the juncture between her thighs in a triangle shape and was held together by two thing strips of lace that came to form in a single line down her ass about an inch thick. He remembered the under garment was called something but there wasn't enough blood in his head right now for him to care about the name. On the top half she wore only a matching lace bra, so her tattoo on her left side was visible along with the mark he had left on her right side and the two tattoos on the side of her hips were visible to him. Both of the garments were the same color scheme of the robe.

"Siha…" Thane was actually shaking from his attempt control himself.

Shepard gave him a seductive smile, she reached up and cupped his face, pressing her body flush against his so he would feel ever curve of her body, the softness of her skin and the heat radiating from it, " Shut up and kiss me Krios."

*******Warning do not continue***** Will contain graphic detail of oral and vaginal sex*******

Thane lost it, there was only so much one man could take and it had been ten years since he had felt the warmth of woman's body and lost himself to the pleasure of becoming one with another. Shepard wasn't taking no for an answer and he couldn't hold back any longer. Thane grabbed her roughly, one hand on her waist the other fisted in her hair, crushing his mouth to hers. Shepard moaned in response, realizing he had given up his restraint. Thane picked her up from her ass and she wrapped her legs around his waist, grinding herself against his arousal. He carried her to the bed, laying her on top of it, she refused to remove her legs from around him so he was forced to follow her down to the bed, never braking the kiss. He lay between her legs, supporting most of his weight on his hands on either side of her head, his hips were pressed firmly against hers. She grinded against him once again, this time she received a growl in response that sent a shiver through her.

Thane leaned in to kiss the side of her throat. Shepard tilted her neck to the side to allow him better access, her hips arching off the bed to move against his again, causing Thane to bite down on her, "Stop it." He growled at her.

"Make me." Shepard retorted, breathlessly.

Thane leaned back in order to look into her eyes, they were narrowed in challenge, a small smirk graced her lips. Thane stared at her, narrowing his own eyes at her, then, without warning grabbed both her hands and pinned them above her head with one of his, leaving his other free to hold her hips down.. He had only a second to give her a smug satisfied look before she retaliated. Her legs hooked around his waist and with flair of her knew biotic implant, she was able to turn him on his back, both her wrist in his grasp as he looked stunned at her above him.

"Not really on your game tonight, are you Mr. Krios?" She gave him a sultry smile, leaning close, pressing her still clothed breast to his chest.

"I'm a little distracted tonight. But I still have your hands Siha." He tightened his hold on her wrist to emphasis his words.

Shepard looked to each of her hands, then down to him, "Yes you do, but I'm the one top." She moved her hips in slow circles on top of him, feeling the very impressive bulge in his pants. _Damn he is big, and I can feel the ridges. _

Thane leaned his neck back, not being able to stop the moan that escaped his mouth, leaving his neck exposed to her. Shepard leaned down and ran her tongue along the silky red ridges of his throat, kissing and sucking as she moved lower.

Thane's secondary eye lids closed in pleaser, feeling her lips trail down his neck, to his collarbone, then his chest, then his stomach. He felt her tug at the hold he still had on her hands, wanting him to let go, part of him wanted to disobey, but the things she was doing with her mouth on the sensitive areas of his hips was causing him to not think as clearly, so he did as she wanted him to and let go. Her hands immediately went to the waist band of his trousers. She hooked her fingers on either side of his hips, looking up at him through her half lidded eyes, asking silent permission to take them off. He could only give her a slight nod, his eyes wide in anticipation for what she would do and how she would react.

He now unfortunately knew, do to the showers he was forced to share with the other men, that drell and humans had extremely different male reproductive organs and he wasn't sure how she would react to his. Thanks to Mordin's message, from what little he had seen there didn't seem to be much difference in that area between drell women and human women so the only thing he had to get used to was the breasts, skin and hair. She would have to get used to his ridges, scales, hallucinogenic toxins, and even his fused figures must be strange to her. He knew to drell and even asari he was a handsome man, he had used that to his advantage when he was younger, but he didn't know how a human would perceive him. So for the first time in his life, he was feeling self conscience about being naked in front of a women.

Shepard pulled down his pants all way down until she had them off his feet and dropped them on the side of the bed. She crawled back up until she was right over his dellhood, looking down with widen eyes that Thane couldn't figure out if it was from shock or disgust, so he just lay there, propped up on his elbows waiting for her reaction.

_Oh my god. _Maria didn't know what to think of him. He had to be between nine or ten inches long, and he was almost three fingers thick, and that wasn't counting the ridges that ran down the sides of him either. The head of his penis was the same red as his neck, and as it moved to the base the colors blended into lighter red, lighter green then his normal shade of green. Right below the head of his dick were four rows of ridges that reminded her of the ones on his neck, and running all way down to the base where projections that protruded out in a type of pattern down the sides.

Shepard ghosted her finger tips along the side of him, feeling the smooth texture and bumpy surface. She wrapped her hand round him, not able to get her whole hand around him, and she leaned over licking the tip of him curiously. Thane let out a hiss and balled the sheets into his fists. Shepard glanced up at him for the first time since she took his pants off, a smile broke out on her face at the almost panicked desperate look in his eyes. She leaned down again, and without taking her eyes off him took the whole tip into her mouth, sucking on him gently. Thane gave a deep moan, his eyes rolling to the back off his head as his secondary eyelids closed. Shepard confidence grew at his reaction and took a bit more of him in, running her tongue over the flaps around his dick.

Thane couldn't breathe but he didn't care in the least, he couldn't believe what his Siha was doing. He watched his dellhood slip in and out of her mouth, he was trying so hard not to buck up into her, fear of choking her too great. She continued to bob her head up and down, testing how much she could actually take in, she could barley fit a quarter of him in her mouth, but he seemed very pleased with what she was doing so she kept going. The deep moans and gasps he was making turned her on to no end; she loved this side of him, the out of control side. No more stoic looks, no more calm exterior, this was just Thane laid bare, literally and figuratively.

Shepard started to taste a kind of sweetness in her mouth that started to cause her to see in that weird dream sequence kind of way. She was guessing this was the taste of Thane's pre cum.

"Siha, you need to stop. Please. I'm afraid that I won't be able to last much longer." Thane managed to get out, his voice strained with the intensity of his pleasure.

Shepard ignored him, swirling her tongue around his head then taking him in once again to suck on the tip, moving him in and out of her mouth tell he hit the back of her throat. This caused Thane to buck his hips and moan some more, finally fisting his hand in her hair, moving her head in time with his thrusts. Sweat glistened off his scales as he looked down at her, taking him in as much as she could, her small hand working the base of his dick.

"Siha, I….I can't take much more of this. You…. need to stop." Thane panted his eyes were completely closed as he tried to stop his hips from moving and pulling on her hair lightly to try to ease her off of him.

Maria pulled him out of her mouth long enough to give her reply, "That's the idea Thane." She whispered seductively before taking him in once again, moving faster and sucking harder.

That was his undoing, he felt himself release into her hot waiting mouth, a loud moan escaping him, bared teeth as he lifted his hips off the bed.

Shepard felt the warm liquid fill her mouth and she swallowed the most she could but some came to drip out of the corner of her lips. Once he had stopped she removed her mouth from his still rock hard erection, wiping away the bit of ejaculation that had escaped past her lips. _Well that was fun, and his taste was actually pleasant. I'm glad I took those pills, things are starting to glow and be colorful and that's with the pills. _Maria crawled on top of him, she sat on his stomach, her hands on his chest, which was moving up and down as he caught his breath. Shepard waited, smiling down at him with a self satisfied look.

Thane looked up at her, the dim lighting and blue glow of the fish tank giving her an ethereal look. _My Siha. _He gave her a lopsided grin once he controlled his labored breathing and rubbed his hands up and down thighs.

"So, I'm going to go out on a limb on saying you enjoyed that?" Shepard stated smugly.

"I did, very much Siha. Thank you." Thane's eyes grew heated as he lightly massaged her legs, up to her hips, toying with the thin lace of her thong. _Now I remember what the damn things are called. _"I think it is your turn to allow me to remove your cloths." His hands came up to pull the straps of her bra down her shoulders.

"Wait! I…I know drell women don't have breast so…I understand if you don't…" Shepard trailed off in a low voice, hanging her head a bit in embarrassment.

Thane's brow ridges crinkled in confusion. _Was she being serious? _Thane tilted her chin upwards, meeting her unsure eyes with his narrowed ones. "Shepard." She was a little taken back by the use of her name, he had been calling her Siha all night, she had gotten used to that. "Take this off now. Before I rip it off." Thane demanded in a deep dangerous tone.

Maria arched an eyebrow at his command. _Did he just give me an order? _

Apparently, Maria hadn't moved quickly enough, because the next thing she knew he was off the bed and dragging her off of it from behind. He had one of his arms securely wrapped around her middle as his right hand came to grab the back of her bra. Maria tried to break the hold he had on her but he was too strong, and with one swift tug she heard the snaps in the back break and the straps fell around her arms. He spun her around and yanked the material down her arms, grabbing her wrist before she could cover herself up. Thane held her close but far enough so he could get a good look at her, he held her arms out in front of her as he gazed at her. Her eyes searched his for any indication of what he thought.

Thane took in the two twin mounds, both looked like they would fit perfectly in his hands. They were the same light brown as the rest of her body, her nipples a slightly darker shade, were standing erect causing him to want to run his tongue along both. He leaned down kissing her neck lightly, then coming to the other side to do the same, still holding her wrist outward. He trailed kisses down to her right breast, then taking her nub into his mouth he flicked his tongue over it, enjoying the moan it cause her to give out. He started to suck on it, not sure if it was the right thing to do. He was rewarded with an even deeper moan and her hands coming around his head, holding him closer. Thane wound his arms around her slim waist bring her hips closer against his erection as he worked her sensitive nub in his mouth. He cupped the other, mulling it around his palm before switching to give it the same treatment he had done to the other. _All women should have these, there so soft and enjoyable, _he thought, loving the sounds she made for him.

As he continued his assault on her breast, his hands moved lower to play with the lace at her hips. _She was going to kill me for this later, but I can't wait. _Thane slipped his fused fingers between the material and her hip and with a flick of his wrist her underwear fell to the floor at their feet.

Maria pushed him at arm's length, looking down at what he had just done, "God damn it Thane. My sister gave me these, now I have to sow both of them. You couldn't just take them off?" She complained to him, not noticing the look he was giving her.

Thane hadn't heard a word of that. He was transfixed by the sight of her fully naked in front of him. His eyes went from her head down her chest, at her breast that had dark love marks on them, to her flat muscular stomach, past her shapely hips to the juncture between her legs. His breathing became shallow and his eyes grew dark with lust, her scent was strong in the air and the small shaven thin line of brown hair that led down to her sex was like a beacon, pulling him in. He didn't even care what she was saying he moved forward with purpose, kissing her deeply and with fierce passion as he pushed her backwards, not knowing what they would hit. Turns out her desk was what had been behind her, somehow they had turned away from the bed when he took her off it. _This will do. _Thane hoisted her up, setting her down on the cool metal top, spreading her legs open for him to stand between. He could feel the warmth of her womanhood against his dick. _Not yet, but soon, _he told himself.

Thane kissed his way down her body, spreading her legs wider for him. Shepard could only watch in stunned silence, her knuckles turning white from the hold she had on the side of the table. Thane knelt between her thighs, looking up into her eyes, he spoke huskily, "My turn." He ran his long rough tongue from the bottom of her sex to the top, flicking her clit, watching her as he went. She clinched her jaw, breath hard, but refusing to break eye contact with him. Thane smirked at her refusal to allow him to dominate her, even in the bedroom she had to have the upper hand. Thane licked along the lips of her pussy, humming in pleasure at the taste of her. The vibrations drove the Commander crazy, she rolled her neck and her eyes half closed in ecstasy, but she still didn't break eye contact. Thane ran his fussed fingers along her slit, draw slow circles at the bundle of nerves at the top. He parted her flaps and slowly entered her with his fingers, moving them in and out, rubbing against that magical spot inside her that finally caused her to shut her eyes and throw her head back, gasping his name. Thane chuckled, proud of himself for getting the Commander to surrender to him, not something anyone had been able to do.

"_Disfrute del poder mientras que puedes. Pendejo_." Shepard spoke through her teeth.

"Something tells me that wasn't very nice, Siha." Thane mumbled as he moved his fingers faster, and worked her clit with his mouth.

Shepard could barely think straight but managed to reply, "It means: 'enjoy the power while you can, bastard.'" Shepard cried out at the nip Thane had done to the sensitive spot, but it turned to pleasure as he soothed the sharp pain with his tongue. _God this man has a talented mouth. _

Thane could feel her tight entry begin to tighten even more, a sign that she must be close.

"Thane…" She moaned arching her back and pushing against his hand.

"Cum for me Siha," He whispered in her ear, making small marks with his teeth along her neck.

"I….I…I can't take…" Shepard wasn't making any sense with her incoherent mumbling, but Thane understood. He removed his hand, causing her to cry out in protest but replaced his hand with his mouth, achieving his goal. Shepard grabbed his shoulders, digging her nails deep into his scales, leaving marks as she screamed his name then a slur of quickly spoken Spanish that he of course couldn't understand but sounded beautiful to his ears. Her juice invaded his mouth and soaked his chin, running down his chest. He loved it.

Thane picked her up and carried her to the bed, not giving her time to recover from her intense orgasm. He laid her gently on her back, lay between her legs, positioning himself at her entrance. He looked at her face, brushing away strands of hair that were sticking to her forehead, she looked up at him with a smile on her face and a look in her eyes that told him she adored him above all others.

"Siha, are you certain you want this, you can still say no?" He asked in a hushed tone, unsure of how he would feel if she refused him at this point. He wanted to love her body and make her his, he needed to be buried inside her and feel her warmth around him as she cried out his name.

She cupped the side of his cheek tenderly, "You are one of the stupidest men I have ever met if you really have to ask me that. I want you Thane, in every way possible; please don't make me wait any longer."

Thane held himself up by his hands, leaning his forehead against hers, closing his eyes as he slid inside her. They both gasped at the feeling, her walls tightened around him, the warmth of her and the slickness of her channel felt so good, Thane just wanted to lose himself in her, but he needed to be sure she was ok. "Siha, are you ok?" He asked in a voice hoarse with restraint.

Shepard took even breaths trying to clear her head of the fog that had spread from how good he felt inside her. "You feel so good. Please…fuck me." She opened her eyes, her pupils so large that it almost eclipsed the green of her eyes.

"As you wish, Siha," Thane whispered, as he grabbed her by the hips and rammed himself into her.

The room was filled by the sound of their pleasure and the noise of their bodies coming together. Thane took her and he took her hard, pumping in and out of her body relentlessly, filling her with all of him. She climaxed once, screaming his name to the ceiling. Thane flipped her onto her stomach, pulling her hips into the air as he took her from behind, digging his hands into her sides, bruises would form there later on. He trailed kisses down her back whispering his love for her in his native language as she did the same, neither one understand the other. He reached around her, on hand fondling her breast as the other played with numb between her legs, causing her to fall into ecstasy once more.

Thane flipped her once more, this time she was on top of him, bouncing up and down on his dick, her head thrown back in pleasure. Thane was close as he thrust his hips in time to meet hers, his eyes closed tight as his hands tightened around her thighs.

With one last upward thrust he came, Shepard following right behind him. There fluids mixing together to soak both of them and the sheets under them, neither cared. Maria slumped forward, laying her head on his chest, hearing the sound of his heart returning to its normal speed. Thane stroked her hair absently, rejoicing in the after math of their love making.

********Safe To Continue********

Shepard removed herself from him, feeling his now limp drell hood slide out of her. She got up and walked over to the dresser and retrieved a spare blanket, she returned to his side and pulled the covers over them, resuming her place with her head on his chest and hooking her arm around his waist while twining her legs with his.

Thane continued to stroke her hair, holding her hand that was on his stomach, "Thank you Siha. I will cherish this night for the rest of my days."

"So will I Thane. It was amazing, thank you." She whispered into his chest.

Thane kissed the top of her head, remembering something he had wanted to ask her, "Siha. What was that thing you told me earlier? While we were on the couch, when I told you I would get my translator updated if it wasn't for me loving hearing you speak your language?"

Shepard sat up, one hand holding her up as she stared down at him, her face serious. _I don't know if I should tell him. I know he cares for me but he might not care for me as much as I care for him. You're not a teenager damn it, act like an adult and tell him, _her inner voice ranted at her. _Well fuck you very much inner voice. _She bowed her head before looking back into his eyes, "_Es mi amor y mi vida. Yo siempre estaré aquí con usted. _It means You are my love, my life. I will always be here with you."

Thane's mouth fell open slightly in wonder. _I'm her love, her life. She loves me? What did I do to deserve this? _Thane got out of the bed, grabbing his pants off the floor at the foot of the bed, tugging them on as he went.

_Oh no, that was the wrong thing to say, I knew I shouldn't have. If he leaves what will I do? I have given him everything. I can only be so strong for so long. _Shepard was panicking on the inside as she watch Thane pull his pants on, but then he came around to her side of the bed and kneeled on both his knees looking up at here with his fathomless black eyes.

"Siha, come here." He motioned her closer.

She didn't hesitate, she scooted to the side of the bed, holding the blankest against her.

"Siha. You have done so much for me. You have become more than I deserve, more then I could have ever hoped for. I am blessed and thank Arashu for sending you to me." Thane bowed his head, his hands flat on his legs.

Shepard relaxed in relief, just happy he wasn't leaving her.

Thane looked back up at her, holding her head in his hands, "I love you, Maria."

That had been the first time he spoke her name, it sounded so special when he spoke it, her normal common human name. _He loves me!_ Shepard felt tears form in her eyes, feeling stupid about getting sentimental about his words but she couldn't help it, "I love you Thane Krios." Her accent thickened due to the flood of emotions.

The two lovers kissed and once again came together that night, before finally succumbing to exhaustion, they slept. Finding comfort in the embrace of the other, thanking there separate gods for finding each other.

**Hope you liked it, please review!**


	16. Party Plans

**Hope you guys like what I did here, the conversation between Shepard and Garrus is very different then the game obviously. I give much thanks to my beta and I love her so much, I wouldn't be able to do this without her. Also, just because I'm so excited for her new story, go read Matyrfae's story Pulse because its going to be her best one in her long line of awesome stories (go read those too). Also, my beta voltagelisa's**,** story Conflicted Desires, she writes beautifully. **

"Shepard!"

Some one on the other side of her door was trying to brake it down.

"Shepard!"

Correction, two people were trying to break it down.

Maria groggily lifted her head off Thane's chest, looking around to her alarm clock to check the time. _Fuck!_

Shepard sprang up from the bed, shaking Thane awake, "Thane get up! Come on you lazy drell, get off the bed and get dressed." The only response she got was a mumbled 'no' before he pulled the covers over his shoulder and rolled over. "You know I would think an assassin would be more alert to people banging on the door, trying to break in."

"I heard them before they even stepped from the elevator, what you are failing to realize is, I don't care." Thane didn't even look at her, he just buried his head in the pillow even farther.

Shepard rolled her eyes at him and grabbed some underwear from the dresser and snatched her robe from the ground, moving towards the door to stop whoever it was on the other side from putting a hole through it. Shepard clicked the pad on her door, allowing the doors to swish open, revealing the face of an angry Garrus and the helmet of Tali.

"Is there a reason why you two are trying to break down my door?" Shepard asked with her arms acrossed over her chest.

"Shepard, do you have any idea what time it is? I thought we were supposed to…" Garrus stopped his rant, looking over the Commander shoulder into the room. Tali did the same beside him. Thane's shirt was thrown on the floor, along with her torn underwear, and then there was the drell himself lying face down in the center of her bed with only a sheet pulled up to his waist.

"Looks like you two had a good time, Commander." Shepard knew Tali was giving her a suggestive smile under that helmet of hers.

"Shut it Tali." Shepard grumbled glaring at her, she turned her attention to Garrus, who was now no longer angry but had an amused look on his face. "I'm sorry we slept so late Garrus, as you can see we had one hell of a night so if you two don't mind, you can be on your merry way and wait for us downstairs." Shepard shoving them both towards the door in annoyance the sleeves of her robes riding up as she pushed them.

Garrus did a double take at her bare arms, the look of amusement gone from his face as his eyes narrowed. "Shepard, what the hell are these? Did he hurt you?" Garrus now had her upper arm in his hand, yanking her sleeves even higher, showing off the hand shaped bruises there. Tali snatched her other hand noticing the same bruises there as well, her helmeted face snapped up to meet her eyes in what Shepard new was a worried expression.

Shepard yanked her arm from Garrus and Tali and stepped back from her over protective friends, "What's the matter with you? This is Thane we are talking about, he would never hurt me and the both of you know that, he is just a bit strong that's all. There was no pain then and there isn't any now, I'm fine." Shepard explained, looked at them incredulously; she couldn't believe they would think Thane would hurt her.

The two seemed to realize the stupidity of their accusations and relaxed, suddenly there faces focused behind her. Maria felt strong arms snake around her waist; she leaned into the comfort of his strong chest and warm body.

"I hope you know I would never hurt my Siha intentionally. I'm sorry if the markings I left caused you distress." Thane spoke calmly to them.

"No, it's our fault, we were being ridiculous. It's just, Shepard is like family to us and the bruises caught us off guard. We apologies, don't we Garrus?" Tali muttered, nudging the big turian next to her.

"Yeah, definitely. Sorry about that Thane. She is like a sister to me, I just let my mind runaway with me." Garrus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"I understand. I would act similarly if I was in your position." Thane nodded his head to them, showing he didn't hold anything against them.

"So now that's settled, get your asses out of my doorway and get ready for the mission. Thane and I will meet the two of you down in the CIC in twenty five minutes." Shepard took a step from Thane's comfortable arms and started shoving her two friends through the doorway.

"You know, we should have known Shepard would like it rough, and here we are blaming Thane." Garrus commented to Tali in a loud sarcastic voice so Shepard could hear as they entered the elevator.

"Out!" Shepard yelled at them, punching the button to close her door.

* * *

In the elevator, Garrus continued to speak to Tali, "Did you see the nail marks on his shoulders. I swear turian's leave less marks than that." Garrus smirked conspiratorially to Tali.

"It looked more like they went to war with each rather than having sex, her underwear on the floor were torn, and she had a bite mark on her neck." Tali waved her hands around enthusiastically to emphasis her words.

"You watch, they won't be coming down for at least an hour." Garrus chuckled shaking his head as the doors opened and they stepped out together to get ready for the upcoming mission.

* * *

"Are you sure you are feeling well, Siha? I'm afraid I might have underestimated how much stronger drell are to humans." Thane asked, worry thick in his voice as he turned her in his arms. The realization that he had not even used the full force of his strength with her was a matter of some concern for him; he would be sure to watch how he handled her from now on.

"If a few bruises could keep me down, I wouldn't leading this mission. Don't worry about it Thane, honestly I'm fine." She narrowed her eyes at him, warning him not even think about feeling bad about the marks. _I kind of like them, _she thought to herself happily.

A wicked grin spread across his features, "I'm pleased Siha, because I'm taking you up on that offer you extended to me last night." He murmured his hands snaking to the sash of her robe untying it slowly, letting the silky material fall to the ground, showing off the hand prints on her hips as well. There was a darker side of Thane that enjoyed seeing them there, but he still had to look up at her one last time with concern, making sure she was actually okay with them.

Shepard stepped closer to him, standing on her toes to kiss his forehead lovingly, "I'm fine, I promise." She nuzzled his neck her voice taking on a more seductive tone, "I kind of like them."

A deep rumble built in Thane's chest as he scooped her up in his arms, caring her to her bathroom.

* * *

Fifty five minutes later…..

"Damn! Off by five minutes." Garrus grumbled to Tali amusingly, watching as the Commander and Thane made their way towards them.

"Garrus, what does the Commander have written on her armor?" Tali asked the turian beside her.

Garrus gave a deep booming laugh, "It's what she wanted."

"You know Garrus, for someone who spends half his time giving out smart ass comments, I would have thought you would know that I was fucking joking when I said I wanted this on me!" The Commander was glaring at him as Thane and her stopped in front of them.

"Sorry Shepard. I guess I couldn't tell." Garrus gave her a smug look, while hitting the button to exit the Normandy.

"_Estupido." _Maria rolled her eyes, moving past the group to lead the way.

* * *

"I'm Commander Shepard and I like to shoot people," The Blue Suns sniper read out loud, watching the turian and quarian come around the corner with the human women, shooting up the mechs as they went. That was the last thing he ever saw, right before a bullet went through his head.

Thane reloaded his sniper as he jumped over the barricaded, taking out as many mechs and Blue Suns he could.

"Thane, watch out!" Shepard cried, watching from the ground as the rocket exploded against the crates he had just been in front of. _To close bitch! _Shepard took out her sniper, kicking the mech in front of her and jumping up to the landing above.

"Tali, hack them. Garrus sniper out!" Shepard ordered, she didn't even bother to kneel behind cover, she aimed her sniper at the merc who had shot at Thane, killing her with a bullet between the eyes. She advanced forward, finally taking cover behind crates, sniping three more Blue Suns in the process.

As the mercs began to get shot at by the hacked mechs, Shepard switched to her assault rifle, unloading on the mercs that were left. Garrus and Thane sniped from the corners as Tali took out the two mechs with her shotgun. Finally, the chaos stopped and Shepard stepped off the platform and moved forward, continuing towards Harkin. She pulled her pistol from her hip shooting the hacked mech in the head, causing it to explode, she never even glanced at it as the explosion rang in her ear.

* * *

"I know you want to talk about this, but I don't. Not yet." Garrus stared the Commander down, meaning what he said.

"I know it didn't go the way you wanted Garrus. But you know it was the right thing to do." Shepard didn't back down, she stared up at his blue eyes, unflinching.

_Of course she wasn't going to listen to me. _Garrus turned from her rolling his eyes, "I'm not so sure…" His reply came out calm surprisingly, no dark sarcasm.

"You know you need to give it time. Garrus you saw him, he is dead already, not many people walk away from what he did actually regretting and morning the people they got killed. Feeling remorse is a rare thing you see in our line of work, unfortunately. The bad guy actually reformed, you don't hear that happening." Shepard stepped closer to Garrus, laying her hand on his chest plate, over his heart. "You were the better man today Garrus, the man I know you are, not what this fucked up revenge scheme had you becoming."

Garrus looked at her solemnly, "I - my men deserved to be avenged, but when I had Sidonis in my sights…" Garrus bowed his head, "I couldn't do it, there was good in him still, I saw it. I just need to know I did the right thing Maria." His voice was quiet and desperate.

Her heart went out to her friend, the man she went through hell and back again with, the man she was returning to hell with once again. Shepard stared at Garrus, really taking him in. If she was honest with herself, Garrus was probably the one she would have ended up with if it wasn't for Thane. Garrus had her six every time, no matter what, he was strong, brave, funny, and for a turian he was cute. Maria was the type to think personality made a person more or less attractive and Garrus was just her type.

Thane and Tali were waiting for them back at the transit station so Shepard wouldn't have to worry about her lover trying to kill Garrus for what she was about to do. Garrus had told her about how he knew Thane had been jealous about how close they were so she was glad the assassin wasn't there, because her friend needed her and she was going to tell him something Thane might not appreciate.

Shepard lifted Garrus' chin lightly so he was forced to look at her, "Garrus, you did do the right thing, and you know that. Your men had a wonderful leader, who will always remember them and honor them. You move on Garrus, harder, faster and stronger. Be the man I know you can be."

The look the Commander was giving him almost made his heart stop. Garrus had fought with some more than friendly feelings for the small human woman, while they were on the first Normandy. He had seen the relationship between Alenko and her growing so he never perused it, not like he would have had a chance with the great Commander Shepard. When she died it had torn him up, he felt dead inside, but he set out to do what he promised he would, train to be a Specter, when that didn't work he formed his team, helped the helpless and failed at that as well. When she showed up that day to save him he couldn't believe it, he had his Commander back, his best friend. Those feeling started to resurface again, but just like last time he had been too late and watched as Thane and her started to fall in love. This time though there would be no take backs, no re-dues, Thane and Maria were in love, a deep love that Garrus knew would never break. He was ecstatic for the couple, he loved that they were happy, but there was still that part of him that wondered what would have happened if they had been together. As she stared at him with her big bright green eyes, looking at him like he was the only thing that mattered in the world right now he was tempted to ask her, just to know if she might have felt the same at any point.

"Shepard, I have seen so many things go wrong, my work at c-sec, what happened with Sidonis, everything just seems to blow up in my face, quite literally sometimes." Garrus turned his face to show the scar that ran there, giving out a half hearted laugh.

Maria gave him a sad smile, running her finger tips lightly down the scar, feeling empathy for him, she could understand things always seeming to never go the way she planned.

"Everything. Including . . . including missing any chance I might have had with a good woman." Garrus looked at her worriedly, wondering if he stepped over a line there.

Shepard lowered her hand and breathed deeply, "You know I love Thane with all my heart, but if there was ever a person I knew, that would have been good for me, it's you Garrus. I love you, but it just never happened, maybe for good reason. You're my best friend, the person I can turn to for anything, the person that will catch me when I need it, the person I consider family." Maria grabbed the front of his armor lightly and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek, the startled look on his face brought an amused smile to her lips. "You're a great leader Garrus and one of the best soldiers I know, you did the right thing here. You will move on and be better for the team you lost. You will also find that good woman that is out there waiting for you." Shepard stepped back and crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a cocky smirk, "Not as good as me, but pretty close."

Garrus shook his head, giving her a wide turian smile, "Guess it's for the best I mean, I'm just beating the women off with a stick now days, you would just get in the way." Garrus strutted to the car, his chest puffed out in show.

"You have fun with those women, don't hurt yourself killer. As for me, I have a _muy guapo _drell waiting for me." Shepard sat in the passenger seat as Garrus drove off.

The truian shook his head, chuckling at the goofy smile on the Commander's face, "Yeah, just try not to kill the guy, you leave worse scars than turian women and the man hasn't really been in "practice" for ten years, so take it easy on him."

"I wouldn't worry about Thane, he needs no "practice" to get me to scream." Shepard smirked at him playfully.

"Huh. Must be easily satisfied, hey Shepard?" Garrus looked at her suggestively.

"Fuck you Garrus." Shepard punched him.

"As tempting as that sounds, I like my head where it is, thank you very much." Garrus chuckled.

* * *

"Will you cut it out!" Shepard made another grab for the scanner in Kasumi's hand, glaring at the thief as the Japanese women danced out of her reach easily.

"Will you just let me do this Shep, quit moving." She cloaked this time, moving around the Commander unseen.

"What the hell are you doing anyways?" Maria just stood there, giving up the struggle and resuming her inspection of the layout of the mansion that was over the conference room table. She ignored the laughter coming from Tali and Garrus around the table, Thane just giving her a look that told her he was clearly entertained by her irritation.

"Taking your measurements." Kasumi's voice came from behind her.

"Why are you taking her measurements?" Jacob had just walked through the door with a data pad in his hand.

Kasumi uncloaked, giving the Cerberus operative a wide smile, "I need to know what size she is for her dress for Friday evening."

Shepard's eyes grew wide as she spun on her heel, "Wait a minute. You never said anything about a dress, what the hell Kasumi? What is going on?"

"Shepard in a dress, I have to see that." Miranda arched an eyebrow amusingly as she walked up to them, also carrying a data pad.

"Shut it princess!" Maria glared at her, thinking maybe she spent way too much time with Jack. "Explain yourself Kasumi, before I strangle you."

"You know we are crashing a party Shepard, a high class party. Did you really think you would just walk through the doors in full armor?" Kasumi looked at her like she was stupid, her hands on her hips.

"No, but I didn't think I had to wear a dress. I thought I could wear my black commander uniform." Shepard retorted, assuming her traditional thug stance.

"Yeah, because that is real sexy Commander and the best attire for an upper class party," Miranda commented sarcastically, walking past her and setting the data pads Jacob and her brought in down on the table. She leaned against the table, arms on either side of her, "Wearing a dress seemed obvious."

"Didn't I tell you to shut it, and I'm not trying to be sexy, I'm trying to break into a criminal's mansion and steal something back." Shepard fixed her with an icy stare. Everyone started laughing quietly at the argument that began.

Thane lifted an eye ridge at Miranda's comment as he looked his Siha up and down. She had on those tight dark blue jeans and a fitting black long sleeve shirt on with the sleeves half rolled up. _She achieves sexiness quite well actually, those jeans hug her shapely hips perfectly and the top is just tight enough to reveal her perfect body, and the lingerie she wore last night was extremely alluring, the sounds she made, the look in her eyes as I….. _Thane snapped out of his day dream before he was too far gone and slipped into solipsism, he looked back to the arguing group, Maria was now having a shouting contest with Miranda and Kasumi.

"I'm not wearing a fucking dress!" Shepard gritted her teeth at the two women.

"Yes you are! You need to if you want to get in." Kasumi retorted.

Shepard gave an agitated groan, her hands came up to rub the side of her head, "Alright, alright! Go get whatever dresses, but I'm picking the one out and if I don't like them your finding others, no pink, no yellow, no orange, no white, actually just no bright colors in general, got it!" She narrowed her eyes at the hooded women.

"I got it, I got it. Come on Miranda, let's go shopping for Shepard." The two women left out the door, talking about what dress to get the Commander.

"_Dios me ayude_." Maria groaned, praying to the ceiling. "Alright, looks like we have to get ready for a party that will be held in three days. We will be docked here at the citadel for two more days, find the cloths and whatever else you will need for the party, or just stuff you need in general." Maria closed her eyes, trying to rid herself of the headache that Miranda and Kasumi had caused.

"Hang on. When did it get decide we were coming along?" Garrus stood up straight, looking over to the Commander.

"When all you jackasses were laughing about me being scanned and having to wear a dress." Maria sneered at him, turning her back on everyone in the room and walking out the doors.

"Do any of you even own formal wear?" Jacob asked.

His three crew mates all shook their heads, all wondering what the hell to expect on this mission.

**Please leave reviews****, I want to know if you guys still like what I'm doing. Kasumi's mission will be very different from the game as you can tell already. **


	17. Arranging a Meeting

**Thank you all so much for your reviews and favorites. Hope you continue enjoying the story. **

"So what are your thoughts on the next mission?" Shepard asked Thane while they waited for the elevator to reach her rooms. _Well our rooms now. _

"I think you will look stunning in whatever Ms. Lawson and Ms. Goto buy for you." Thane answered, leaning his shoulder against the same wall she was, mimicking her crossed arm stance.

"I meant the actual mission, not what those two pain in the asses are going to dress me up in." Shepard pushed off the wall exasperatedly, entering her rooms with Thane following behind her.

"It seems very risky, but nothing we can't handle. Not like we make a career out of being safe." Thane spoke, his deep bare tone soothing her.

Shepard walked over to her terminal, checking the messages she had there. 'Thanks for the help' she read, the message was from Kolyat. "Yeah, your right. A heist shouldn't be a problem for any of us." Shepard whispered absent mindedly. _I will read this later._ Shepard shut the computer off and turned to Thane in the center of the room. She walked over to him, enjoying the feel of his arms coming around her. She pulled on the collar of his jacket, bringing him down so she could kiss his lips, "So, what are you wearing to this party?"

"What I'm wearing now." Thane mumbled, trying to kiss her again.

Shepard slipped from his arms, her brows knitted together and she gave him an amused look, "No you're not. You have to wear formal wear just like the rest of us. Don't drell have formal clothing?"

Thane gave her an irritated look for moving out of his arms, "Of course. However, I don't own any." Thane advanced on her, throwing her over his shoulder and placing her on the bed. He trapped her with his body and went to kiss her but failed when she turned her head from him, laughing at the eager drell.

"Thane seriously, we need to get you clothes that you can wear to this thing." She couldn't help the big smile that came across her lips as Thane started kissing down her neck.

"Fine, but later. Not now." Thane started to undo her jeans, yanking them down her legs before she could protest.

"Thane, we need to get this . . . " Shepard breathed out a loud moan as the assassin started to massage the spot between her legs through her underwear.

Thane whispered in her ear, "Later." He made his way lower down her body, ripping his coat off as he went.

Maria gave into the pleasure she was receiving from his lips, aiding him in his goal of stripping himself of his clothes, and hers as well.

Thane wasted no time in entering her once they were naked, the sounds of his Siha's moans and declaration of love the only thing that mattered to him at that moment. Sweat glistened off their bodies as they moved against one another, both shouting the others names, calling to their gods as they reached their ecstasy over and over again. Finally, Thane began to show signs of exhaustion, quickening his thrust from behind. Maria's knuckles grew white from how tightly she held the sheets in front of her. She turned her head over her shoulder to meet Thane in a passionate kiss as he spilled himself inside her for the third time that afternoon.

They held each other in the middle of the bed, basking in the aftermath of their intense love making, both wearing satisfied expressions. Maria lifted her head off his chest and looked down at him with a curious look_, _"How is it you only I have one child?"

Thane gave her a deep laugh he only allowed her to ever hear, "Does my desire for you displease you Siha?"

Shepard feigned disappointment, "Yes. I hate having multiple orgasms and being ravished by an incredibly sexy drell_. _Stop it."

Thane sat up against the headboard, pulling her close to him and tilting her chin so his lips were ghosting over hers, "I imagine if my work hadn't taken me so far away from home for so long, I would have many other children. Let's just say, when I did come home, Irikah and I spent a great deal of time in the bedroom before doing much else." Thane finished by closing the small gap between them and kissing her deeply.

Maria was pleased to notice that he had spoken about Irikah without falling into depression. That was progress in his healing. Maria pushed away from him and crawled off the bed before the kiss could get more heated. "Ok _mi amor, _we need to get ready. You're going to go pick some clothes out for the party whether you like it or not." Shepard made her way to the bathroom, turning around when she felt Thane wrap his arms around her. It didn't shock her that she hadn't heard the bed shift or him come up the stairs after her.

"Do I get to join you?" Thane murmured in her ear in a low seductive tone.

Maria felt shivers run down her spine as she pushed him at arms length reluctantly, "No you're staying out here. If I let you shower with me we won't get out in time before the shops close. That's an order." Shepard gave him a stern look, a bit of her Commander mask slipping through her expression.

Thane stepped back and clasped his hands behind his back, his stoic assassin look in place. He bowed his head, never breaking eye contact with her, "As you wish, Commander."

The fact that he was doing all this naked was making it very hard for Shepard not to drag him in the shower with her, but she knew they needed to get this done and she couldn't just have sex with him all day, no matter how much she wanted to. Maria nodded her head and turned her back on him, entering the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

Thane smirked at the closed door before slipping his leather pants back on. He looked around her room, being able to finally really take everything in for the first time. She had three model ships missing from her case, a small collection of books on her desk, most fiction novels that he had never read before, and the turned over holo frame next to her awards. Thane picked the frame up to find there was no picture there. Thane's brow ridges came together in confusion, he felt the side of the frame and pressed the button to retrieve the last photo that was there. A picture of a human man, with black hair, rounded face and brown eyes stared back at him.

"EDI, who is this man?" Thane asked quietly to the ceiling.

"The man in the holo picture is Commander Kadian Alenko of the Alliance military. He served on the original Normandy crew during the fight against the first reaper Shepard came across." EDI informed him.

"Thank you EDI, that will be all." Thane mumbled staring back at the man in the frame, anger building up inside him. _You hurt my Siha. _Thane knew about Commander Alenko from the stories Garrus, Tali and Joker told the crew. They had been romantically involved but when Shepard returned from the dead and encountered the soldier on Horizon, the man turned his back on her, claiming she had betrayed the Alliance. The human better hope he never crossed paths with Thane or the other members of the crew for that matter. Garrus had retold the story with murder in his eyes, and now with the members of the team so close, anyone of them would be willing to kill the Alliance Commander on sight, except perhaps Mordin and Samara of course. Mordin was too logical and the salarian couldn't understand the emotions that Shepard had gone through and Samara couldn't rightfully kill someone just because he broke the heart of another. _But I can. _Thane guessed he shouldn't feel too much anger towards the man, if it wasn't for his and the Commanders falling out, Thane would have never had a chance with his Siha, but that didn't mean he liked how the man had treated her. _Maybe instead of killing him, I should thank him for being such a fool. _Thane deleted the picture once again and set the picture frame face down in it's original spot.

He heard the shower turn off and sat down in her chair, waiting for his turn to use the bathroom. He looked along the shelves that she had on the side of her desk, there was a small empty space on one of them. _Maybe she would like a . . ._Thane didn't get to finish his thought. The doors to the bathroom swished open and the Commander walked out, dressed in black jeans and a navy blue long sleeve shirt, the sleeves were again rolled up to her elbow, showing off the script on the back of her right forearm and the cross that took up most of her left forearm; however the hand prints he had left along with the bite mark on her neck were hidden by her omini tool cloak. Her hair was damp and brushed back, her bright green eyes stared down at him as she leaned her shoulder against the door frame, smirking at him as he blatantly stared at her.

"Problem?" She asked with an arched eyebrow.

Thane stood from the chair, his muscles contracting as he lifted himself from the chair and walked the short distance to her. He fingered the gold cross she never took off while his other hand lightly traced the patter of the cross on her arm. "You never told me what exactly these meant, what it is for?" Thane stared at the small gold pendent in his hand, the bright red rubies gleaming in the light of the room.

Shepard watched his face as she answered him, "They are symbols of my religion, however I don't worship them like some cultures worship symbols. They are the sign of the cross that people of my faith believe our Messiah, our savior Jesus Christ, died on… for our sins. It is there to remind us of his sacrifice and his love for us."

Thane's face remained a blank expression as he switched his gaze to the tattoo on her arm, "What do you mean by 'died on'."

Shepard didn't know if he would know what crucifixion was or how he would react to it, he knew who Thomas Hobbs was so she would give it a try, "He was crucified."

Thane looked up at her, his brow ridges drawn in confusion. Maria gave him a sad smile, taking the cross from his figures, "They…they nailed both his hands to either side of the cross" She pointed to the points of the cross that she meant, "and his feet to the bottom. This was a common way of executing people during his time."

A look of horror crossed his face, "Why would anyone do that to someone? Why did they do that to him?" Thane had seen many horrible things in his life but it never secede to amaze and anger him what some people would do to others. He had only ever killed his targets slowly when he went after the men responsible for the death of his wife, and he wasn't proud of that but he couldn't exactly say he wasn't justified in what he did.

Shepard shook her head at all his questions, she laid both her hands on either side of his broad shoulders, "_Mi amor, _it's too long a story to explain. I promise if you really wish to know I'll explain later tonight, so long as you promise to stay here again." Shepard wrapped her arms around his waist looking up at him with hopeful eyes.

Thane's face relaxed into a small smile as he looked down at her, "Of course my Siha, I will stay as long as you wish me to."

Both Shepard's brows went up, a playful look crossed her face, "In that case, I want you to make these your permanent rooms."

A wicked grin spread across the assassin's full lips, "I guess I could find some reason to stay permanently." Thane backed her into the bathroom, Shepard felt her back hit the wall behind her. Thane lowered his lips to hers, Shepard couldn't stop her eyes from closing as she responded to his talented kissing skills. It took all her will power to push against his chest and move past him as fast as she could.

"I'm guessing it's just my big bed that made you agree to my request." She teased him, running a single figure down his exposed chest and stomach before walking backwards to stand in the middle of the door way.

Thane's eyes never left her hips as she spoke, a lustful look came over his eyes as he returned his gaze to her face, "Not exactly Siha."

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest, "You know, you never did tell me what Siha means."

Thane mirrored her posture, giving her a sly smile, "No I didn't."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at him, "Your really not going to tell me, even though you know what my words mean?"

"Yes." He told her simply.

"Fine. Don't tell me." Shepard turned around to leave the room but Thane pulled her to him, her back pressed firmly against his warm chest.

Thane kissed her shoulder before moving his mouth to her ear, "Siha, one of the warrior angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath and a tenacious protector." He spoke as if reciting from a book.

Maria turned in his arms, giving him a confused and shocked look. She was honored to be thought of so highly, she never imagined the word meaning anything like that. She blinked rapidly to clear her mind of the fog that had settled over it, "That's beautiful, thank you." She kissed the spot on his head that was her target for every time she did so.

"Your words are just as beautiful." He kissed her neck lightly, remembering the long description she had given him of how she felt about him.

_She bows her head before looking back into my eyes, "Es mi amor y mi vida. Yo siempre estaré aquí con usted. It means 'You are my love, my life. I will always be here with you.'"_

Thane was pulled from the memory just as quickly as he had been pulled into it, Maria hadn't even realized it as she hugged him closely. _Mi amor, my love. That is what she calls me. _Thane still couldn't believe he had the love of this beautiful woman, the gods seemed to bless him with amazing women he did not deserve.

Maria pulled back from his embrace, eyes filled with love for him, "Come on, you need to shower and we need to hurry so you can get to the stores." She stepped out of the bathroom and let the doors close behind her, leaving Thane to stare at the metal with a wistful look before undressing and turning on the shower spray and stepping under it.

* * *

Maria looked at the door for a few more moments, an expression filled with happiness and wonder on her face. She turned from the door, glancing at her computer in front of her. _Guess this is as a good of time as any. _She sank down in her chair as she turned the terminal on. The unread message from Kolyat stared back at her, waiting for her to open it. Shepard clicked the message, praying this wasn't bad, regardless of the title being 'thank you' it still could have something bad in it.

_Commander,_

_I wanted to thank you for the trouble you got me out of, Bailey is having me work with him and c-sec, they even gave me a uniform and everything. He has set me up with a room on the Zakara wards and will be putting me through training as I do paper work and small tasks around the station. You really did a lot for me Shepard and I'll never forget that. Thank you._

_I heard that your ship is going to be docked her for another three days, I was hoping if I could speak with you in person while you're still here. My father doesn't know I'm asking you this, so if you could not tell him I would appreciate it. I understand if you are too busy to come, but I hope to hear a reply from you. Thank you again for everything you have done._

_Kolyat Krios_

_Well that was nice of him to thank me, but he didn't explain why he had wanted to see me, _Maria thought curiously. Kolyat seemed like a nice boy so she wasn't worried about him trying to hurt her, not like he could anyways, but she wasn't sure what exactly he would have to say to her or why he didn't want his father knowing. _You won't ever know unless you meet him. _Maria wrote him a short reply telling him he didn't need to thank her and she was happy to help and if he could, she could meet him in an hour at the c-sec office. She sent her reply and stood from her chair, she grabbed a hip holster from one of the drawers and secured it around her waist, she also took out a blade from the drawer and secured it behind her back. Maria never went anywhere without being armed.

She gave one last look to the bathroom door then walked out of her rooms to the elevator. The doors closed and she began her descent to the CIC.

"EDI, tell Thane when he is done to meet me at the airlock, please." Shepard always made a point to be polite to the AI, she was honestly a big part of the team and Maria couldn't help but care about the AI the way she cared for anyone on the crew.

"Understood Commander." EDI's disembodied voice replied.

The doors opened and Shepard made her way leisurely to the armory. She nodded to Jacob as she passed him, she took M-5 Phalanx from one of the counter tops and loaded it before sliding it into the holster. Shepard opened her omni tool up and glanced over her messages, there was a reply from Kolyat.

_Thank you, I'll meet you at the station._

Maria closed her omni tool and looked over at the Cerberus operative. She leaned against the counter in front of him and folder her arms across her chest, "So Jacob, are you excited for the party?" her voice thick with disdain.

Jacob laughed at the sarcasm in the Commanders tone, she was obviously not happy about the mission, "I'm not really the high class parting type Commander. I would rather be in a place like the Dark Star here on the Citadel, but it will be amusing seeing you get all dressed up, not a bad view either." Jacob gave the Commander what Kasumi would call a dashing smile, to her he just looked ridiculous. She preferred the dangerous mystery that Thane radiated even when he smiled.

"Watch it Taylor, I don't need Kasumi strangling me in my sleep." She joked good naturedly.

Jacob was cut off from replying by the doors sliding open and Thane walking in, fully dressed in his black leathers, his emotionless face turned to her as he stood in front of them. "Are you ready to go Siha?"

"Yeah, let's head out. See you later Jacob, and remember formal clothes to this thing." She called over her shoulder as Thane rested his hand on the small of her back. Shepard suppressed the smile that was trying to make its way across her face at the clear display of possessiveness.

They made their way through the CIC and out the decontamination chamber and hailed a taxi at the transit station. Maria got in the driver's seat and drove off to the clothing district. She glanced at Thane beside her, "I got a message from Anderson, he wishes to meet up with me today."

Thane new she was asking him if he was ok with her leaving to see the Council member, he also had the feeling she was lying. Thane was trained to be able to detect lies when speaking with people, and Shepard was trained to pass even the most advanced lie detector tests, so Thane was having a hard time telling if she was being truthful. _If she is lying it's for a good reason and besides, I want to get her something anyways. _"You don't have to ask my permission Siha, go do whatever you have to." He reassured her with a small smile.

Shepard had seen the slight suspicion in his eyes but he didn't say anything. _Kolyat you better have a good reason for make me lie to your father. _She thought in annoyance.

Thane stepped out of the car when Maria parked at the clothing district, he leaned over and kissed her neck receiving a soft groan as he did so. Thane gave her a soft smile as the doors to the car closed and he watch her speed off into traffic. _Now, let's go find her those gifts and me some damn formal wear._

* * *

Maria smiled at the turian c-sec officer as he apologized about the inconvenience of being scanned. She walked through the doors and was greeted by the sight of Bailey handing Kolyat a gun.

"Only use this when you need to son, I don't want to be hauling your ass out of the fire again, even Shepard wouldn't be able to help you a second time." Bailey instructed him, showing him how to turn the safety on and off.

Shepard smirked at his remark and folded her arms against her chest as she walked towards them, "Oh I don't know. I have been known to get people out of worse situations, even myself, and I can do it more than once."

Both men turned towards the woman, Bailey gave her a pleasant smile and shook her hand heartily, "It's good to see you again Commander, and thanks for the tip off on Fade, or Harkin, whatever he calls himself. He will be locked away for a long time."

Maria nodded her head to the c-sec captain, "It was no problem, I remember that jackass from my first time on the Citadel. I won't be shedding any tears over his incarceration." She turned her attention to Kolyat, who was just staring at her, the pistol limp in his hand, forgotten. She shook her head at the young man's floored stance, "You know, those typically go in the gun holster when you're not pointing it at someone." Shepard commented with a smirk.

Kolyat snapped out of his daze and hurriedly holstered his gun at his side, the dark reddish purple ridges on his neck growing brighter in embarrassment. H_ow cute. _"You ready Kolyat?" She asked.

_She speaks my name so strangely. _"Uh. Yeah . . . yes I am." He nodded his head nervously.

Shepard gave out a small laugh at his worried expression, she came up beside him and clapped him on the back_, _"Don't worry kid, I won't shoot you again." She winked at him causing him to give out a choked laugh, easing his tension a bit.

"I'll see you after your time with the Commander, Kolyat. Don't worry about a time limit, take as long as you need." Bailey told him, settling himself in his chair behind his desk.

"Thanks Bailey." Shepard smiled to him and then turning to Kolyat and gestured out towards the wards. "You lead."

Kolyat nodded and stepped in front of the Commander, leading her to some where they could talk.


	18. Lunch

**Sorry this took so long guys, I just started college again so I can't write as much as I would like and used to, so the chapters wont come out as fast as you are used to. I thank all of you so much for the kind reviews, 41 yay! I love them and hope you guys keep them coming. **

"Thank you for meeting me Commander, especially on such short notice." Kolyat looked sideways at her as they walked through the crowd of people. It was hard for him to believe the tiny human was one of the most feared people in the galaxy. He stood about a foot taller than her and probably weighed twice as much as her, and that was without factoring in his muscle density that made drell so much more heavy and stronger than a lot of other species, counting that in and he was probably three times her weight. _And she can kill me without even breaking a sweat. _

"No problem, I was surprised by your request though. Why would you want to talk with me Kolyat?" Shepard asked him curiously.

_What's with that accent? _"There just something I wanted to ask that I wasn't sure I could over the externet. My father told me about this suicide mission but no details about it, I would like to know more if you can tell me and there are some other things I was curious about." He trailed off at the last part, looking away from her and around the area, before taking a left and stopping in front of a restaurant. Shepard knew he was trying to dodge her question about what other stuff he wanted to talk about. She took pity on him and didn't say anything about it, he would tell her when he was ready.

"Element Zero, I have heard of this place, supposed to be good food." She commented and earned a grateful smile from her companion.

"Yeah. I have eaten here a few times during my stay on the Citadel. It's real good and inexpensive. I haven't eaten all day and thought this would be a good place to talk, if that's ok?" His brow ridges were raised in uncertainty at her, his expressions made her want to laugh.

_He shows emotion a lot more than his father, I guess the whole stoicism is more of a Thane thing, than a drell thing. _She gave him a pleasant smile before answering, "Actually, I haven't eaten either, so this is a good place."

Kolyat relaxed his stance, giving her a nod as he opened the door for her. _He is really nervous about this isn't he, or maybe he is just scared of me. I did shoot him so he does have a right to be I suppose. _An asari hostess greeted them at the door and led them to a booth in the back, Shepard took the seat with her back to the wall, she had a good view of the whole room, people, entrances and exits. She was always on alert.

"Here are your menus and your waiter will be right out." The asari spoke in a bubbly happy voice before walking away.

Shepard didn't even pick up her menu, she rested her elbows on the table and look to Kolyat in front of her, who was staring down at his clasped hands in front of him as if he was praying. _That actually might be what he was doing, _Shepard thought, "I'll have whatever your having." She spoke lightly, her smile still in place as he looked up at her will an almost scared expression. _Ok, that's going to have to stop. _

"Uh. You sure, you might not like what I get?" Kolyat asked her, his brow ridges moving up again with his question.

"I'm not a picky eater at all, for a few reasons really. One is, in the military it's not exactly a buffet, you eat whatever they give you or what is available. Second, when you grow up where I did you learn to eat the little food that you have and you appreciate everyday you don't go hungry. And third, I just never was a picky eater to begin with, I like food too much." She gave him an even bigger smile at the end, which actually caused him to give her a small smile in return, but he was still sitting stiff in his seat, hands neatly folded in front of him. "Ok, you are going to have to do something for me. You are going to have to relax because if you keep looking and acting like I'm about to attack you, I'm not going to be able to sit through this whole thing. You don't have to be nervous around me or what you want to ask me, I promise." Shepard gave him a reassuring look, hoping that he would finally loosen up. It worked.

Kolyat visibly relaxed his broad shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, he gave out a deep breath, "Sorry about that, just I have heard stories about you and this isn't the most comfortable thing in the galaxy to do." Kolyat gave her an amused grin, "And you did shoot me and chase me down, so you should understand if I'm a bit…cautious around you."

Maria gave out a small laugh, leaning back in her seat she nodded her head to him in agreement, "Ok, I can understand that. But I promise I won't shoot you…unless you give me a reason to."

Kolyat set both his hands on the table palms down as he leaned back in his own seat, "Understood, Commander."

_Wow, he looked so much like his father when he said that. _Shepard wasn't allowed much time to marvel at the family resemblance due to the fact that their waiter chose that moment to walk up. To her great surprise the waiter was a drell. The male drell had rich gold scales and instead of black stripes and designs that Kolyat and Thane had. He had light and dark orange running along his head, neck, and exposed forearms. He had dark orange ribbing at his throat and his eyes were a light brown color, extremely different from Kolyat's and Thane's almost black eyes. The drell was much shorter than them as well, but he wore a pleasant smile and was still as handsome as she suspected all drell were.

"Do you two know what you would like to order." He looked at them expectantly, holding a data pad in one hand.

Kolyat looked to her to make sure she was certain she wanted him to order for them. Shepard nodded to him and he turned back to the other drell, "Two combination fours please, and I'll have water to drink."

"And what will you have to drink Ms.?" The gold drell asked her.

"Water is fine." Shepard answered.

"I'll be right out with your drinks and meal." The drell took their menus and before walking off he gave a flirtatious wink to Maria, who barely even noticed as she returned her attention back to Kolyat. Kolyat had noticed though, it caused him to really look at the Commander.

For a human she was actually attractive, nice body, pleasant face, but her eyes were what really drew you in. She had bright green eyes that just seemed to shine when she looked at anyone, it just seemed like she really cared and wanted to help in any way possible; they reminded him of his mother, who shared the same look. But her eyes held a fire in them, and it wasn't because of the faint orange glow that you could barely see through her pupils, but it was a drive and sense of danger that you could see in them, it's what let you know that not only did she want to help you, but she was capable of it and anyone who got in her way would suffer her wrath. Kolyat knew what it was like being on the receiving end of that wrath, that fire grew into a blazing inferno when she was in battle or crossed in anyway. When she had walked into that room trying to find him he had seen it, he had thought she was going to kill him or at least kick his ass and drag him to c-sec. But for some reason, the fire had dimmed and she had chose to tell him about her past and her missed opportunity to speak with her parents, she was smart and knew how to interact with people and knew what exactly to say. But it showed she had a merciful side that came with the bad ass, all powerful soldier persona. The memory of their last encounter, brought him back to why he was here with her in the first place.

Maria stared at Kolyat as he stared back, his eyes moving back and forth as if contemplating something, she waited for him to speak, but nothing was said. She was just about to break him out of his musing when the waiter came with their water, making Kolyat snap back to reality. She raised an eyebrow out him questioningly, causing him to give out a nervous laugh.

"Sorry. Uh, you're probably wondering why I asked you here. Well I guess my first question is, what is this mission about? I know it's a suicide mission but nothing else." Kolyat took a long drink from his water, looking to Maria over the rim of the glass.

"It is what people are calling a suicide mission, yes. Basically, what we are doing now is forming a strong team, we have everyone, but I want everyone focused and ready for this mission, so I'm handling any unresolved problems that may distract them, Distractions get people killed, and I plan on doing all I can to bring everyone home from this mission." She gave him a meaningful look near the end. Even though his father and him had a very complicated and unstable relationship she knew Kolyat was wondering whether or not he was going to see his father after their mission.

Kolyat looked lost as he stared down at his hands on the table, "What are the odds that you will be able to bring everyone back?" His voice was low and thick with emotion.

Maria wanted to be honest with him but didn't want to cause him stress or more depression about possibly losing his father again after just being reunited, Thane was already dying and that was bad enough. "The same odds I faced going into Illos, do you know about that?"

Kolyat looked up at her, his brows slightly furrowed in question, "I know about the attack on the Citadel but I have never heard about Illos. I'm guessing that's a planet?"

Shepard gave him an amused smile before going into detail about the original Normandy crew's mission, their battle on Illos and their return to the Citadel, how they stopped Saren and the reaper from taking over.

Their food had arrived in the middle of her story, Kolyat took a bite of his white rice as the Commander finished talking. He was shocked at all she had went through with her past team and how she managed to get everyone out alive, accept for the unfortunate death of one of the human soldiers on Virmire, but that had been because they were forced to split the team and work with the salarians, the women hadn't died under the command of Shepard technically. He felt a bit more at ease with their chances of coming out alive and possibly being able to have more time with his father. He didn't exactly like the man right now but he did love him, he was his father after all, but he hoped he would have more time with him to at least get to know and like him more. The Kepral's Syndrome was hard enough and didn't give them much time, the suicide mission just made things worse, but he had confidence that if there was anyone in the galaxy that could bring his father back to him alive, it was Shepard. For that he was grateful to the women and would always be in debt to her, for saving him, reuniting him with his father, and doing all she could to keep him alive.

"So that's who you're going after, the reapers?" Kolyat asked her, setting down his utensils and pushing his empty tray aside.

"In a manner of speaking, yes. But what we are really doing is going after a race called the Collectors, there abducting whole human colonies and no one is doing anything about it, so we plan to go through the Omega 4 Relay and hit them where they live. In doing so we will be taking out the ones who work for the reapers." Maria pushed aside her empty tray as well, the fire in her eyes burning a bit brighter in determination of her plan.

Kolyat nodded his head absent mindedly, taking in everything she had told him. Maria observed him, glad that he seemed to take everything so well. She glanced at the clock behind him, noting they had been there for almost an hour. "So, you said there was something else you wanted to ask me?" She gave him an expectant look, she was very curious about what he could possibly want to ask her.

Kolyat went back to his nervous expression, his eyes shifting back and forth across the table top, refusing to meet her eyes. "Uh, yeah I…I did."

Maria just smirked at his fidgeting, patiently waiting for him to continue.

"I - you told me about your parents dying, about them having other children." Kolyat finally looked up at her, an innocent hopeful look in his eyes. He was hoping he wasn't pushing his boundaries with her. Maria just gave him an encouraging smile, easing his nerves. "You said they were sent to the same orphanage you lived in." He took a pause, taking a breath before continuing, "I was wondering…what happened to them?"

This was not what Maria had expected when he had told her he wanted to ask her about something else, she had thought maybe he would ask if he she was sure he made the right choice or ask about his father, not about her siblings. Maria blinked rapidly, trying to clear her head of the slight shock she had received from that question, "Well, I…"

"Shepard?" Maria heard a familiar voice exclaim in shock to their left.

She turned her head rapidly, her mouth falling open as she breathed the person's name, "Kadian?"

**Hope you all weren't disappointed with this, I promise the next chapter will actually come faster and will be better then this =). Please review and let me know what you think.**


	19. Disturbing the Peace

**I am so sorry this took so long, it was meant to come out faster. Blame my friend for giving me another story idea that I just could not get out of my head tell I wrote it down, so it delayed the chapter, also I was having confidence issues with what I did here. **

**I want to thank you guys so much for the great reviews, they really do get me through the writing faster and make my day. There is one reader that I would like to address:**

**Awesome: I am sorry that my chapters are short, they tend to be because I brake them up into multiple chapters, such as Sins of the father was really 40 pages long if I hadn't broken that up into sections. I do this because I want to get the chapters out as quickly as possible, that is also why you get cliffhangers a lot, I apologies for this but I just don't have enough time to write =). Kasumi's mission will be like this and I'm sorry for that, but it is just too much to write and you guys wont get the chapter tell a week or more later, instead of shorter chapters periodically. Also, the spelling errors, my beta and I do our best to pick them up but sometimes we just read write over them, I do try to correct them after the chapter is posted, I hope they are not too much of a bother, and yes it's because I'm trying to get the chapter out fast. I'm glad you enjoy the story though and thank you so much for your kind review.**

**Maybe the rest of you were wondering the same thing, so there you go =). **

"Kaidan!" The Commander breathed out. Maria couldn't believe out of all the people to run into, she had managed to run into _him_.

The Alliance Commander could only stare at her. He was dressed in his civilian clothes, a blue t-shirt under an Alliance high collar jacket and blue jeans. Two years ago Maria would have thought him cute, but oddly enough now she thought him plain and boring. He was too…human. _Thanks Thane, you ruined my own species for me._ The thought didn't matter much to her, Thane and her loved each other and only death could break them apart, anyone would be able to see that by looking at the couple.

"Maria. What are you doing here?" Kaidan's focus was completely on her and he had completely missed her companion who was sitting across from her silently, watching the interplay curiously.

Maria's eyes shifter to Kolyat, "Uh, I'm having lunch with someone." She spoke slowly as if he would have a hard time comprehending what she said.

Kaidan finally moved his attention from Shepard to the blue drell that was sitting in the booth with her. He looked lost and unsure what to do with himself when Kaidan's focus turned to him. His attention shifted back to Shepard, "I mean what are you doing here on the Citadel?"

"I helped Garrus and another friend of mine with problems they were having. We are docked here for the next two days so the rest of the crew can get some much need shore leave and other materials they might need." Maria explained to him.

The mention of the crew seemed to set something off in him and his almost friendly disposition became cold and distant.

Kaidan narrowed his eyes a bit, "The crew. You mean your _Cerberus _crew." He spoke the word Cerberus with disgust, causing Maria to clench her jaw in annoyance.

She stood from the booth, passing her omini tool over the holo check on the table, paying for Kolyat's and hers lunch. "Look Kaidan, I don't have time to listen to your insults again, nor do I care to. I'll see you around, stay safe." She muttered with annoyance looking at Kolyat, who was still seated in the booth, she nodded towards the door, indicating she wanted him to move in front of her and she would follow. Kolyat slid from his seat, giving the male human a suspicious look before standing next to the Commander. He placed a hand lightly on her arm, forcing her to walk in front of him. Maria rolled her eyes at his manners, _just like his father, ever the gentlemen. Wonder if Irikah raised him to be like that. _She didn't want to cause a scene so she moved forward; not catching the look that Kaidan was giving the spot that Kolyat was touching.

Kaidan saw red at that moment, all rational thought and control flew out the window. It had killed him to lose her and when she just showed up out of the blue like nothing, and working with Cerberus, he had said some nasty things. He had sent a letter apologizing for the things he had said, explain to her why he had acted as he had, that he was having difficulties moving past her being brought from the dead. He had ended the message with a kind of hope for them, maybe in the future, after her ties with Cerberus were cut. But now it looked like she had completely forgotten about him and moved on, with an alien no less. Kaidan wasn't xenophobic whatsoever, but something about the drell being clearly protective over Shepard pissed him off.

Kaidan glared at his former lovers back, his voice coming out with venom and hate, "Guess you have forgotten about me Commander, now that you're sleeping with aliens?"

_God damn it Kaidan. _The Commander slowly turned, her eyes narrowed in warning, "Kaidan. You have no idea what you're talking about and now isn't the time to be starting anything."

Patrons of the restaurant were starting to notice the argument going on and some were turning in their seats to stare at the trio.

"What's not to get Shepard? You're here having lunch with this guy, his got his arm on you, what's there not to get huh?" Kaidan's voice was rising now, his hands were swinging wildly in his anger.

Kolyat didn't know what to do, it was clear the human thought Shepard and him were together, but he didn't know if he should try and correct him or if that would just anger the man. _I'll just let Shepard handle this for now, it's her ex. But if this guy gets violent I'm stepping in. _He watched as the women took a step towards the other man, pulling away from his hold.

Maria's voice was dangerously low, "Kaidan, back off. If you really want to talk, come to the ship, I'll talk to you there, but now is not the time and you are getting the wrong idea."

Her accent was thickening, a sign that Kaidan should shut up. The biotic knew this but apparently his brain was not working properly today, so he kept right on, "Tell me

Shepard, how long did it take for him to get you in bed huh? Did you just jump right in with the first alien you saw? Did Garrus get a turn too?" he bit out scathingly.

_Wrong thing to say. _Maria wanted to hit him for that, implying that she was a slut was not a good thing to do. Before Maria could respond, Kolyat surprisingly stepped forward, pushing her protectively behind him.

Kolyat stared down at the shorter human, a look of disgust and anger on his face, "I think you need to learn how to speak to a lady properly human. You are jumping to all the wrong conclusions and insulting the Commander in the worst way. Apologize." Kolyat demanded stepping closer to Kaidan, invading his personal space.

Kaidan sneered at the c-sec officer, "Back off drell! This is between me and Shepard."

"Now it's between you and me." Kolyat bared his teeth at Kaidan.

All Kaidan saw was an opportunity to take his frustration out on someone else, "I said. Back off!" Kaidan pushed Kolyat away from him, surprised at how little the drell moved, but it was enough to get him at arms length.

Shepard darted forward, seeing Kolyat reach for his gun. She doubted the kid would shoot Kaidan, he probably only wanted to scare him but she wasn't taking the chance. Also, Kaidan was trained to disarm and take down trained fighters, Kolyat wasn't nearly skilled enough to take on a trained marine, no matter how strong he was.

Shepard placed a firm hand on Kolyat's, stopping him from pulling out his gun, she quickly placed herself between the men. Unfortunately, she didn't see Kaidan cock back his hand, alit with blue flames, as he swung for Kolyat's head, but connecting with Shepard's face.

_Oh shit! _Kaidan's eyes grew large, whether it was from shock or fear, Kolyat couldn't tell. Probably both if he was smart.

Shepard's head remained to the side, staring at the table top in front of her, her body perfectly still.

The occupants of the restaurant stared in wide eyed surprise, no one moved, even the waiters and manager didn't know what to do. The black haired human was Alliance, the drell was c-sec and the women was a specter, there was really nothing anyone could do, but hope they didn't tear the place up. The owner did press the silent alarm alerting c-sec, just in case they could help out in anyway.

"Shepard, I…I am so sorry, I wasn't….you…I am so sorry." All the anger that had built up in Kaidan disappeared in seconds.

There was real concern in his eyes and regret, but Kolyat saw the fear as well. _Smartest thing I have seen from you human, I would be afraid too. _Kolyat wanted to slam the human into the ground but Shepard still had a grip on his arm and he didn't want to move, just in case it was the wrong thing to do.

Shepard closed her eyes and took a deep breath, calming herself so she didn't let her anger take over, if she did, Kaidan was going through the nearest wall. Maria opened her eyes and without turning her head she spoke in a low controlled voice, "Kolyat. We are leaving." She turned for the exit, not even glancing at Kaidan, her hand was still holding on to the young drell's wrist, dragging him along with her. They made it around the corner and through the doors, stepping out into the busy street. Maria tilted her head back and took a deep breath, relaxing her shoulders and releasing her grip on Kolyat.

"Commander, are you ok?" Kolyat asked in a quiet voice filled with concern, he placed a blue scaled hand gently on her shoulder.

Maria gave him a weary smile, "Yeah, I'm fine. That was an old team mate who said some bad things to me when I returned to action. Sorry you got caught in the middle of all that." She gave him an apologetic look, before her eyes detected movement behind him. "God damn it! _Este hombre es estupido!" _Her strange language came out fast and angry. Kolyat was able to realize two different things quickly; those words were meant for two things – one: she was insulting the man who was causing her so much trouble and two: the man was coming up behind him.

Kolyat reacted fast, spinning around and reaching the man before Shepard could do anything. Kaidan stopped when he saw the drell walk towards him, and his body tensed in anticipation. Kolyat didn't even hesitate, not giving Kaidan enough time to move out of the way of the lighting quick hook that Kolyat aimed at his face. The Commander was knocked on his ass, holding his most likely broken jaw in pain.

Kolyat stood over the human, pulling his gun from his holster and aiming it at the man's head, "I would advise you to stay down." Kolyat ordered him in an icy tone that again reminded Maria of his father.

The stunned women could only watch as her lover's son held Kaidan down at gun point, defending her honor and clearly doing a fine job of holding his ground against a far more skilled fighter. _I knew he had potential, _Maria thought proudly. She couldn't honestly say she was feeling sorry for Kaidan, what Kolyat had done to him was far more lenient then what she would have done if she had gotten her hands on him.

At that moment a team of c-sec officers rounded the corner, running over to them as fast as they could. Shepard just stood there, letting the two turian and three humans do what they had to do.

"What's going on here Krios?" One of the turians, obviously the squad leader, asked Kolyat as the young drell lowered his gun and turned to them.

"This man, verbally abused and assaulted a women and when my guest and I left without any retaliation he came running after us. I subdued him and detained him." Kolyat explained, with a neutral expression on his face.

The owner and the manager of the restaurant came through the doors, hurriedly making their way towards the group, "This man caused trouble in my restaurant, and these two tried to leave peacefully, before being berated and assaulted by the human! The women still did nothing and left. The man followed her and the drell out, intent on causing more trouble. The whole restaurant are witnesses to the whole scene officer, it was the male humans fault." The owner, a salarian, explained in a quick and distraught tone, pointing to Kaidan accusingly.

The turian turned his head towards Maria, noticing the dark bruise that was already forming on the side of her face, the side of her lip was slightly cut from the hit she had taken. "Ma'am, is this true? Did this man hit you?"

Maria looked down at Kaidan for the first time, she saw regret and sadness in his eyes. She had been thoroughly pissed off at the guy, but Maria had too big a heart to remain angry, she understood his outburst and anger at the situation, so she took pity on him.

"Yes, he did." She turned her attention to the c-sec leader, "But I don't wish to press charges, just let him go, nothing was broken in the restaurant, though he did cause a disturbance, the owner and him can discuss how he can make that up themselves." Maria told him, no emotion shown on her face.

"Shepard, are you serious? After what he said, what he did?" Kolyat stepped closer to her, his brow ridges were drawn in confusion.

Shepard gave him an amused look, "It's fine Kolyat, let it go."

"Well, if you don't wish to press charges, the man is free to go. Unless the salarian wishes to?" They all looked to the owner.

"No, do not wish to press charges. But I never want to see you here again, you hear me?" The salarian glared down at Kaidan, who could only nod in answer.

"Ok, looks like we are done here boys, lets head back." The turian motioned his team forward, but stopped beside Kolyat, he spoke in a hushed voice, "Nice take down Krios. You handled yourself well."

Kolyat stood taller, saluting the superior officer. Maria found that amusing, seeing the drell use a military gesture, unlike his father's usual bow. Looks like Bailey was wasting no time in training him.

"Thank you sir." He responded.

The turian nodded to both of them, Maria gave him a nod of respect, before he followed his team back to c-sec. The two turned back to Kaidan who was slowly picking himself off the floor, still holding his now swollen jaw.

"Stay here." Shepard ordered Kolyat.

She walked the short distance to Kaidan and lightly lowered his hand, applying the spare medi gel she carried with her to the black and blue area, easing the pain. "You know you deserved that, don't you?" Maria asked him in a quiet voice, gently rubbing the medi gel into his skin.

Kaidan cast his eyes to the ground nodding in agreement. His eyes filled with grief. Maria stared at him, lowering her hands from his face. The reason she wasn't able to stay angry with him was because she realized how hard he must have taken it those two years she had been gone, then for her to suddenly show up with the organization they had spent a good amount of time trying to bring down must have shattered all the hard work and pain he had gone through to move on. For her it had only been a few months, and a bad break up, for him it had been two years of his life, living with the sorrow and guilt of being the one who lived. Also, there was Thane. She had someone in her life that she loved more than anything and had virtually erased the Alliance soldier from her mind entirely. So she could understand and sympathies with the situation Kaidan was in and how he had reacted to seeing her with Kolyat, because he wasn't far off with his accusations. It was just the wrong drell and implying she was sleeping with Garrus too had been taking it too far, but he had been right; she had forgotten him and moved on.

"Kaidan, I'm sorry for the way things turned out for you. But when you turned your back on me on Horizon, I had to move on. I have people to save and a mission to do." She turned her head to Kolyat, his eyes were trained on Kaidan for any kind of hostility. She returned her gaze to the man in front of her, "Kolyat and I are not together." Kaidan's eyes looked at her with hope, "But I am seeing someone, and it's serious." She watched the hope leave as quickly as it had appeared. Maria continued, "I'm not sorry Kaidan. I love him, the man I'm with and I'm happy. All I can do is pray you find that women that makes you as happy as Thane makes me, because I know that women isn't me." Maria stepped back from him, giving him a sad smile, "Goodbye Kaidan, and please take care of yourself."

Maria turned her back to him and walked to Kolyat's side, she nodded her head forward, both of them slowly walking down the alley side by side.

"Everything ok?" Kolyat asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. Thank you for defending me back there, you did handle yourself very well." She smiled up at him.

Kolyat gave out a short laugh, "Thanks, Bailey taught me where to connect with a person to get the ideal punch."

"He taught you well." She nodded to him.

"Yeah. I think I'm going to like…." Kolyat trailed off as he looked up from talking down to the women next to him, his eyes growing wide as he slowed his steps.

Maria followed his gaze and slowed her walk as well, she took in a shocked breath. _Fuck me. _

"Father." Kolyat breathed out in his raspy voice.


	20. Explinations and Gifts

**I'm sorry this took so long to get up, blame higher education and there messed up homework polices! Now this is actually cut off before I was going to originally cut it off but I really wanted to get something up and I promise the next one will come faster!**

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! 50 I cant believe it =) **

Thane stood a few feet in front of them, his hands clasped behind his back, face devoid of emotion as he stared at them, waiting patiently for them to reach him.

"Do you think we could out run him?" Kolyat whispered to her, his eyes never leaving Thane.

"How about you run and find out." Maria answered in an equally hushed tone.

"Can you tell if he is angry or not?" Kolyat asked her uncertainly.

"Only one way to find out," Maria quipped, quickening her step, her harden gaze meeting Thane's dead on.

She reached the older drell before Kolyat, who was still a few steps behind her, moving at a cautious pace.

"What happened to you?" Thane's question came out low and fast, his eyes directed to her bruised face and split lip.

Shepard brought her hand to the tender area as she ran her tongue over the bit of blood on her lip, "A misunderstanding, I'm fine." She tried to reassure him.

Kolyat came up beside her, nodding to his father curtly, "Father."

Thane only blinked at his son in response, looking to them both as if he didn't know what to make of them. He finally spoke, his voice coming out calm and controlled, "Do you mind explaining what is going on here? And what has happened to the Commander's face?"

Maria had to stop herself from wincing at his remark, to her he sounded cold and unfeeling, she had gotten use to him relaxing around the Normandy, and the use of her title sounded strange on his lips.

Maria looked to both men, they both seemed to be having a staring contest and neither one was yielding. _Does he think Kolyat did this to me? _Maria spoke fast, before either of them could say anything or do anything, "Does this really look that bad?"

The two drell turned their head simultaneously, their eyes softening when they looked at her.

Kolyat was the first to speak, "The bruising is taking up the majority of your face, and your lip is cut open. You're not looking too pretty right now."

Sheared narrowed her eyes at him, her mouth turned down in a frown, "Thanks." Maria rubbed her face self-consciously.

"I didn't mean…" Kolyat held up is hands, an apologetic look on his face as he tried to take back what he said.

Thane cut him off, "Who did this to you Shepard?" Thane was having a hard time keeping his temper in check while looking at his Siha's damaged face. He had watched the c-sec officers leave the area and disappear from sight when Shepard had stepped away from the other human, but he hadn't been able to get a look at the man's face. His attention had been on his mate's interaction with his son, he had been shocked to see them together, and from the looks of it they had been with each other the whole time she had been out. They seemed to be getting along very well, but the mark on her face did not bode well with Thane and he was very much aware his son was more than capable of leaving a mark such as that easily.

"It was an accident, I'm fine really. But I should go see if that hit did any real damage." Maria looked to Kolyat, "You should tell your father why you wanted to meet me, Kolyat, and be nice, both of you." She gave them both a serious look, warning them they better listen to what she said. Kolyat lowered his head before nodding to the floor. Thane just narrowed his eyes at her, not liking how she had dogged his question again. "I'll see you back on the ship Thane." She spoke in a professional tone, before moving past him.

"Wait! Commander." Kolyat yelled out to her, stopping her half way from the transit station, she turned to him, raising an eyebrow at him questioningly.

Kolyat left his father's side to walk to her hurriedly, "I…what about my question?" He asked her, unsure of himself.

Maria gave him a smile, shaking her head at his expression, "We will be docked here for the next two days, if I don't see you during that time, asked me over externet mail, ok?"

Kolyat gave her a tentative smile, nodding his head vigorously, "Yes, thank you. Oh and thanks for lunch too." He shook her hand before watching her walk back to the transit station and hail a cab.

He felt his father's presence next to him, he turned his head to see the man standing directly beside him.

Thane looked at his son, the look in his eyes as frightening as his voice when he spoke, "Where you the one who hit Shepard?"

Kolyat's browns knitted in disbelief, but he kept the anger out of his voice, "Of course not. It was that damn Alliance soldier. He was aiming for me but got Shepard." Kolyat watched his father visibly relax, his eyes giving away to relief, but tension was still held in his jaw and after the relife flooded his eyes, it left just as quickly, anger flashed in them worse then ever, but he composed himself quickly, looking back to his son. The man's reaction seemed a little too dramatic for just a crew members relationship, but then again Kolyat himself just broke a man's jaw for a women he barely knew, and who had shot him. _Shepard has a strange effect on people, more so on men it seemed, or maybe there is more to his father's relationship with her than he is letting on? _Kolyat just stared at his father, not knowing what to believe.

Thane cast his eyes to the ground, taking a deep breath before looking to his son once more, "We need to speak."

* * *

Maria moved through the CIC, ignoring the stares she got from the crew as she passed.

"Commander…what happened?" Kelly asked as she passed, her voice filled with shock.

"Just a minor disagreement Chambers, nothing more," Shepard called behind her as she activated the door to open, stepping through to the laboratory. She found Mordin is his usual spot behind the center table, analyzing something through a microscope.

The salarian looked up from his work when he heard the doors open, giving his Commander a wide smile, "Ah. Shepard, what can I do for you?" He didn't seem fazed at all by the bruise or cut on her face, a day didn't go by when the women wasn't sporting some sort of injury.

"Hello Mordin." Maria gave have him a pleasant smile, "I was wondering if you had been able to work on that thing we discussed four weeks ago?"

Mordin knew exactly what the woman was talking about. He gave a sharp nod, a pleased look came over his face as he directed the Commander to one of the tables behind her, "Come. Take a look."

* * *

Thane drove the cab back to the Zakara wards, not a word had been spoken between the two drell after he had asked Kolyat about Shepard's injury.

Thane looked to his son, who was staring out the window, his features twisted in a hard expression. Thane took a deep breath before addressing the boy, "Kolyat. Why were you and the Commander together today?"

Kolyat did not look to him, his answer came out clipped, "I asked her to meet me. I told her not to tell you."

"What was the nature of your meeting?" Thane did not bother to ask his son why he had wished for him to not know of the Commander's and his meeting. Knowing his son would probably not answer him. Thane hoped that Kolyat would obey his Siha's wishes, and tell him why the boy had wanted to meet with her.

Kolyat remained quiet, shifting his attention to the front window. He swallowed down his anger and resentment towards his father, knowing that if he was ever to have a real relationship with the man he need to be honest with his thoughts and feeling and give him a real chance. Kolyat looked to his father, his expression relaxing, not enough to display kindness but less hostile, "I wanted to know details of your mission. Mostly, to know if I will lose my father again, just after getting him back in my life."

Kolyat's confession caused Thane to cringe internally. He did note that his son didn't seem to want him to quit or back out of his promise with Shepard, not like he would. He just wanted to know if he would see him after they went through this mission.

"And what did the Commander tell you?" Thane whispered in a hollow voice.

"She said that it is a suicide mission, but she is going to do all she can to bring everyone home. She told me of her past mission, of how all her crew and her where able to get through without losing anyone while she was in command of them." Kolyat told him, his face growing more relaxed as he spoke.

Thane stopped the car at the transit station on the Zakara wards, he looked to his son, his brow ridges lowered in concern, "Do you believe her?"

Kolyat meet his gaze dead on, his response coming out sure and unwavering, "Yes, I do."

It surprised Thane how much Kolyat seemed to trust the Commander and how much respect he clearly had for her, but then he probably shouldn't have been, his Siha drew respect, trust and awe where ever she went. A gift Thane had not been able to resist himself.

"The Commander is a strong and powerful women, and I believe, if there was ever anyone who could bring the whole crew home alive, it is her. She cares for her crew deeply and is talented at what she does, we will succeed in our mission and live to tell about it." Thane spoke with confidence and something more in his eyes that Kolyat was sure was affection. Thane placed a strong hand on the young drell's shoulder, his face serious and the confidence and affection gone from his dark eyes, "But, if the worse shall come to pass, and my body is taken to the deep, I want you to know that _you…" _Thane paused to collect himself, taking a deep breath before continuing, "Kolyat, I have taken many bad things out of the world. You're the only good thing I ever added to it. I thank the gods and Shepard for helping me find you and giving me the opportunity to be apart of your life once again, my only regret is that I was not there when you needed me, I wasn't there for your mother and you." Thane bowed his head, warm tears rolled down his face, as did Kolyat's. He had not allowed himself to cry when Irikah had been taken from him ten years ago, he had let his son cry for both of them, but now he couldn't stop the tears from coming, they were a mixture of sadness and relief.

Kolyat looked at his father, he had never seen the man cry, not once. From the memories he had of his father he always seemed so strong, an unstoppable force that would never parish. _That's not true, even now the Kepral's Syndrome is killing him. Even if he survives this mission, I only have so much time with him, _Kolyat thought with despair, but still, more time was better than less.

Kolyat placed his hand on his father's, that still rested on his shoulder, "Father. I still need you. I have not forgiven you for leaving us like you did, but I know mother loved you and only had kind words to tell me about you, and I know she would want me to have you a part of my life."

Thane raised his head to look at his son, he had grown so much and he had missed it all, but he vowed to himself that he would not lose any more time with his son.

Kolyat pulled back from his father, giving him an awkward smile, "I should get back to C-sec Bailey wants me in training as soon as possible." Thane said nothing, only nodded his head in understanding. "Uh, I will message you later." Kolyat added, pleased with the small smile he got from his father. Kolyat moved to open the car door, Thane wanted to ask Kolyat what was the other thing he had asked Shepard but chose to give his son privacy, Maria would tell him if he really wished to know.

When Kolyat turned to say goodbye to Thane one last time before closing the door, Thane leaned over and looked up to his son from his seat, "Kolyat. You said an Alliance soldier was the one who hit Shepard?"

Kolyat's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened at the memory of the man, "Yes. Shepard called him Kaidan. I know he is receiving medical attention, probably in the 200 blocks."

Thane gave nothing away in his expression, only nodded and straightens in his seat. Kolyat was sure he had seen anger flash in his eyes though, he bent down to stick his head in the car as he spoke, "Father." Thane turned his head to his son, stoic mask in place. Kolyat's lips turned in a menacing smirk, "Kick the human's fucking ass."

The corners of Thane's lips curled up slightly, before returning his gaze to the front window as Kolyat closed the door. Thane had purpose in his eyes as he drove the car, his mind focused on his target.

* * *

Maria moved through her rooms, striping off her t-shirt and kicking off her boots as she went. She opened one of the drawers of her dresser, pulling out a tank top and black boy short underwear she always wore. Before closing the drawer she looked at her underwear, a smirk crossed her face before she put it back in the dresser and pulled out something else instead. She walked over to her shower, calling up to the ceiling as she went, "EDI, can you do me favor?"

The AI listened to the request her Commander made, affirming that she could have it done before beeping out.

Shepard stepped into her shower turning the water up high. She didn't need to really take a shower, not like she had become dirty in the four hours between her last one but she always loved to take showers in order to relax her. Growing up in a poor area meant you didn't get many hot showers, if you got to shower at all. The padre and nuns always tried to keep the children clean but there was only so much water they had and it was almost always cold, so once Maria was out on her own, hot showers were a regular thing; if only the Normandy had a bath tub.

Maria dried herself off and changed into her cloths for the night. As she stepped out of the bathroom she immediately noticed the change in the room tempter, it was hotter and dryer; just like life support. Maria took a deep breath, a smile spread across her full lips, she always loved the feel of life support when she would visit Thane, reminded her of home. She hoped that he would be more comfortable now.

She was about to check her computer to see if she had any mail but a tiny scratching noise stilled her movment. Her face scrunched in confusion as she looked to the left and in front of her, trying to find the source of the noise. She finally turned her head to the right, sitting there, on her once empty shelf was a small space hamster scratching on the side of his glass tank. Maria's eyes lit up and she let out a very uncharacteristic girly squeal as she moved to the side of the tank and placed her hand where the tiny creature was leaning against.

"Where did you come from little guy?" She stuck her hand through the top of the tank and picked up the little hamster, holding him close to her chest as he nibbled on her figure lightly.

"You are too cute, what am I going to name you?" She held him up at eye level, and as if he was responding to her question he leaned out and touched his nose to hers.

"Do you like him Siha?" Thane's deep rough voice spoke from the door way.

Maria's head swiveled in his direction, startled by the fact she hadn't heard him come in. _Fucking assassin! _She smiled to him as his eyes took in her state of dress, or lack there of.

Thane pushed off the door frame that he was leaning against and crossed over to where Shepard stood in three long strides. He ran his scaled hand down her shoulder, down the middle of her back, past her hip to her exposed round ass. Maria felt the goose bumps form on her skin as she held back the moan that threaten to escape her lips.

Thane fingered the thin strand of material that ran cross her hip, his lips quirked in a smile, "I'm really starting to like these, I never understood there purpose." He looked down into her eyes, "Tell now."

Maria grinned self-satisfied, "I'm glad you like it." She kissed the spot on his head as he lowered it for her, closing his eyes with a peaceful expression on his face. Maria turned her attention back to the fury little hamster in her hands, "Now. Are you the one who left this cute little thing here?"

Thane chuckled lightly, placing his hand on her lower back as the other came up to tickle the hamster behind the ears with a single finger, "Yes. I saw that your shelf was bare and since you chose not to put fish in that massive tank, I thought you would like a fury friend instead."

The hamster squeaked in response, his whiskers twitching up at them. Maria giggled at her knew friend, "I love him. I need to name him though." She placed the hamster back in his tank, watching him nibble on some food in the corner.

Maria narrowed her eyes in thought, Thane watched her with an amused expression, enjoying staring at her beautiful face.

"Luke." Maria spoke suddenly, a pleased smile on her face as she turned to Thane, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Thane placed his hands on her hips, his head turned to the side curiously, "Is there a reason for choosing this name?"

Shepard nodded her head, taking his hand in hers and leading him to the bed.

"It was the name of my dog, well more of the neighborhood street dog but I fed him scraps and played with him growing up." Maria lied herself on the bed, pulling Thane down with her so she could lay her head on his chest, "I even snuck him in most nights and let him sleep in my bed. I really loved that dog." Shepard had a happy far away look on her face as she thought of her old friend.

Thane pulled Shepard into his lap so she was now straddling him. He rubbed the sides of her thighs soothingly, receiving a smile from his Siha.

"I am pleased you like your gift." A teasing smile crossed his face, "I hope you enjoy the other I bought you."

Maria pulled back in surprise, her face drawn in confusion down at him, "Other. What else did you get, you shouldn't be spending your money on me, I don't need anything….." Thane sat up and stopped her rambling by capturing her lips in a sensual kiss, his tongue sliding in her mouth, eliciting a moan from the Commander. Thane sprang from the bed, holding the women in his arms as he walked her to the sliding panel that was her closet. The Commander didn't have much in there, only the black Commander outfit Cerberus gave her and two jackets she never wore.

Thane set her down and made her turn her back on the closet, "Close your eyes Siha."

Maira rolled her eyes at him but obeyed, she heard the swish of the door open and Thane pull something out. Thane placed his arms over her shoulders, holding the gift in front of her.

The drell leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Open your eyes Siha."

Maria's eyes slowly came open and a surprised gasp escaped her lips as she stared at what he had in his hands in front of her. In his hands there was a black and red version of his own leather coat, smaller of course, just the right size to fit her own frame. He had it so the back image was facing her. In red were two long ovals about three inches apart, circling them was two swirl designs that came down to run parallel to each other down the back all the way down to the end of the center of the jacket. A long diamond shape was in the middle of the two lines, right below the ovals. It was a cut out in the jacket, just like Thane's square one on his back. The only thing that came to mind to describe it was the design of a Kind Cobra, minus the diamond cut out. Her eyes trailed down the arms, the high shoulder pads were black with the same red lining, and on the sleeves red cords wound down it and the sleeves had the thumb holes in them.

Shepard couldn't keep the smile off her face if her life depended on it. She remembered the conversation they had had so long ago, before they were together.

_She had tugged on the collar of his jacket during dinner as she sat down next to him, she had actually been able to take the assassin by surprise because he had looked at her in shock. _

"_Hey Krios." She had said, "Where do you get a jacket like that? I want one." _

_Thane had actually laughed, the first time she had ever heard him do so, she had liked it very much, she remembered giving him a wide smile as she looked up at him._

"_This is a men's jacket Shepard. Women do not where these kinds of coats." Thane had responded in amusement._

_She had chuckled, "I didn't ask if women wore them, I asked where you got it. Do I really look like the type of woman that cares whether or not something is socialy correct to wear?" She raised her eyebrows at him, causing him to look at her as if he had never seen anything like her. _

_He finally spoke after taking a few seconds to just stare at her, "Only male drell department stores sell them. Since drell are so rare to find outside of Kahje, not many stations have them, but the Citadel and Ilium would be among the few stations to supply them." _

_She had turned back to her food, a contemplative look on her face, "Huh, looks like I am going to have to look for one of those stores, next time we dock there."_

_Thane shook his head at her, a short deep laugh escaped his lips again, "I doubt the drell who works at the establishment will sell you the jacket, they will think you crazy and turn you away." _

_Maria had lowered her hand to her thigh and took out the large blade she had there, she twirled it in front of her with a wicked grin on her face, "Well, I'm sure I can find a way to convince them." _

_That had caused everyone who had been listening to laugh and Thane to shake his head at her. _

Shepard came out of the short memory, she spun in her lovers arms and wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked up into his handsome face, "Thank you. This is… amazing. I love it." She kissed the top of his head as he kissed her throat.

"I didn't want you to have to stab someone in order to obtain it." He smiled at her. He turned the jacket in his hands and placed it around her shoulders, she slipped her arms through, rolling her shoulders to get the material in the right place. Thane stepped back and looked her over, he thought it had been funny that she had expressed a desire for a man's jacket but he couldn't deny that she looked spectacular in it and completely desirable, especially in her black thong and tight tank top that showed off the tops of her breasts. His eyes grew a bit darker as lust filled them, the only thing that could make her more alluring is if she took down the cloaking shield that hid the marks he had made on her body.

Thane stepped up to her, closing the space between them as he placed his hands on her hips, pulling them against his own, letting her feel the tenting of his pants.

Thane leaned his head against Shepard's, his voice low and deep as he spoke, "Remove the cloak."

Shepard did as he said, not breaking eye contact with him. The many bruises and marks left by him appeared, including the ones on her face. This caused the desire to leave Thane's eyes, his face growing serious. Maria saw the change and knew what had caused it.

"It's not that bad you know." Shepard whisper up at him.

Thane said nothing, just lifted a green scaled hand to run it lightly across her face and down to her lip. Silently he led her to the bed, pushing the leather jacket down her arms and laying it across the foot of the bed. He picked her up bridal style, lying in the bed himself and tucking her in the crook of his arm, her head lay on his chest as he ran his hands through her soft hair, the other traced the side of her cheek.

Finally he spoke, "Were you the one you gave the Commander a broken jaw?"

Shepard couldn't help the small smile that played at the corner of her lips, "No. Your son did."

"Kolyat?" Thane looked surprised, but proud, "He defended you?"

Maria's brows furrowed in confusion, "Yes. If Kolyat's not the one who told you what happened, how did you know that Kaidan had a broken jaw?"

Thane's expression changed to a look of innocence, he tried to distract her by kissing along her jaw, but Maria wasn't letting him shy away from her question. She moved quickly, straddling his hips and pinning his hands on either side of his head. She knew he was letting her do this but that didn't stop her from narrowing her eyes at him and giving him her best Commander look.

"What did you do?"

**I hope the explanation of the jacket was good enough. Please review!**


	21. Warnings

**This chapter is all thanks to Matyrfae, who asked for a Kaidan and Thane meeting. Originally I wasen't going to do this but I really like how it came out, I hope I didn't make Thane too OOC, more than I usually do. Also, thank my beta she did a wonderful job as always. I really hope you like it and thank you for the reviews, they are much appreciated. Please continue sending me feed back, lets me know if you actually enjoy the story.**

Thane stared up at his Siha, gauging whether or not she was angry with him. He saw no anger in her eyes, curiosity and mild worry, but no anger.

"I did not kill him Siha, if that is what you are worried about." Thane spoke calmly.

Relief showed in her eyes as she leaned her head against his, "Thank god, I already kept your son from going to jail, I don't know if I could do it again with you. I would have had to flee the Citadel to keep you from C-sec." She breathed, her lips touching his lightly.

Thane chuckled, "You wouldn't have to flee, I would be able to escape from any holding cell with ease. Besides, I am the best assassin in the galaxy, they would not catch me. I would be back in our bed before you could miss me."

Shepard grinned at his confidence, "Who says I would miss you?"

Thane growled up at her, giving her a stern look, "I say. You…."

Maria kissed him again cutting him off. She pulled back shortly to look him in the eyes, "I would miss you _mi amor." _Her face grew serious, "Now what happened with Kadian?"

* * *

An hour earlier…..

Thane walked through the streets of the 200 blocks, the sign for the doctor's office right in front of him on the corner of the street. Before stepping into the clinic, Thane disabled the front cameras, so there would be no evidence of him being there. He stepped through the doors, disabling the cameras in there was well. He noticed this was not a normal doctor's clinic; it was more of a small place to get patched up if one needed and a place to buy medical supplies. A red headed woman had her back to him as she fussed over someone in front of her. Thane peered through the glass window in front of him, trying to get a look at the patient. Sitting there on a box of crates was Commander Kaidan Alanko, his jaw swollen, black and blue and a holo brace holding his jaw in place as the women worked. Thane's eyes flashed with anger as he moved forward silently around the corner, not stopping in his strides as he quickly pressed the nerve on the women's shoulder to put her to sleep, he caught her in his arms and gently set her down. He quickly grabbed the male human's wrist as he tried to pull his gun from its holster, Thane's other hand came around the man's neck. The drell picked the human up with one hand and turned with him as he slammed him into the wall next to the crates. Kaidan's eyes were wide but he showed no fear, though anger and confusion was clear. The man wasn't able to yell or speak at all, due to the brace on his mouth. That was fine for Thane, he did not wish to hear his excuses. He was here to send a message.

"You made a mistake, laying a hand on my Siha." his growled, teeth were bared and his face only an inch away from the other man's face.

Kaidan shook his head vigorously, not able to explain what happened to the angry drell, who was now trying to choke him to death. _What, did Shepard do? Go and start a drell fan club or something? Looks like this guy is her new boyfriend and not the other one, and this one is way stronger and very angry._

Thane took the man in his hands and lifted him so he was able to flip him on his back, slamming him on the metal crates. A pain filled groan was able to be heard, before Thane returned his scaled hand to the Alliance soldier's neck, apply the slightest bit of pressure.

His voice was low and dangerous, "If you ever touch the Commander again, I will kill you. The only reason I do not do so now is because it would displease her." His grip tightened slightly with his next words, "You abandoned her when she needed you most, she cared for you deeply and you threw her aside. Your loss is my blessing, Shepard is my women now and if you come around her again. I. Will. Kill. You." He spoke the words slowly, letting them sink in.

Thane let the man go, hand prints were already forming on his neck, and the human was coughing the best he could through his clinched teeth, taking deep breaths through his nose. The man had a sad look on his face, a look that showed that he knew he got what he deserve, Thane did not care. In his eyes the man did not get enough, he would have to pray for forgiveness for his cold hearted cruelty, but he could not bring himself to feel remorse for what he had done, or for what he was about to do.

As Kaidan slowly got up from the boxes and stood in front of the drell, Thane erupted in blue flames, his hand moving out fast, capturing Kaidan in a biotic grip, throwing him across the room causing him to slam against the glass panel. The window cracked under the force of Kaidan hitting them. The Commander slumped to the floor, unconscious. Thane was tempted to kick the man but refrained from doing so, he had acted like a thug enough today, not something he was proud to admit but his Siha caused his emotions to become out of control. Thane was more alive than ever with her, and he loved it.

Thane smirked at his Siha as he finished his story about his meeting with Commander Alanko.

Shepard stared at him in wide eyed shock, her mouth was open as she tried to figure out what to say to him. She finally was able to speak, "Thane. Why? That isn't like you, you acted like a…like a…?" Shepard was trying to find the right words, she wasn't angry of course, she actually had a bit of amusement in her eyes but she was just socked by his actions, "You acted like a thug." Shepard finally got out.

Thane was annoyed by the fact she was able to come to the same realization he had. Thane pulled his wrists from her hands and grabbed her by the hips as he flipped them, pinning her under his body. He stared down at her, his eyes filled with emotion as he stared down at her. Thane searched her eyes, his hands tightened their grip on her thighs as he leaned down and kissed her, pouring all his emotion and love he held for her into the kiss. Maria was taken aback by his enthusiasm but returned the kiss in earnest, with the same about of feeling and love. Her legs wrapped around him as they kissed, forgetting the rest of the world just for a few minutes.

As they came apart, both breathing slightly more heavily. Thane noticed for the first time that his breathing was easy and felt as if he never became sick. The dryness of the room was better than life support.

"You had the room's atmosphere changed for me?" Thanes brow ridges were lowered and as he stroked her cheek affectionately.

Maria smiled up at him, her own hand lightly pressed on his chest, "I wanted you to be more comfortable."

Thane buried his face in her neck, his arms came around her, holding her close to him. Is voice was clear in her ear, "I love you Siha. I will always love you, until my dying breath."

Shepard stroked his head, her hand traveling over the rounded spikes on his head, "_Te amo, mi amor." _Her language rolled off her tongue, causing a deep rumble to start in his chest, a sign of pleasure she had come to understand.

Thane lifted his head, slowly rolling them onto their sides, he faced her as he spoke, "You were right Siha, I did act like a thug. I act on emotion and without thought, my feelings rule over me ever since I met you, whenever I am around you." He bowed his head, shaking his head trying to make sense of what he was trying to say, "The hanar taught me to control my emotions, to never to be controlled by them. My whole life I have done this well, achieved complete discipline over myself, until you stepped into my life. You have re-awakened me from my battle sleep Siha, but it is different this time." Thane looked her in the eyes, "I feel things I never thought possible, I feel a real kinship with the crew, I laugh, I smile, even when you are not with me. I never did any of these things before, not since I was a young boy. When I met Irikah she opened me up to the world and I was happier than I could ever imagine myself being, happier then I deserved, but when I was not with my family it was as if I returned to my battle sleep, only to come out of it when I saw them, which was not as often as I should have." Thane realized he was rambling, another trait he had picked up since being with Shepard, "I am not the same man I once was, and I have come to accept this, I have come to enjoy it. And it is all your fault."

A smile played at his lips, Maria traced the line that ran down the middle of them, all the way to his chin, "I enjoy it as well." She her smile turned playful, "Don't get me wrong the stoicism is sexy and I found and find it very attractive, but I love seeing you smile, hearing you laugh, actually living your life instead of letting it pass by you." She kissed the top of his head, his smile growing as she did so. When she pulled back her expression was more serious, "How did your talk with Kolyat go?"

Thane was about to answer when their doors swished open, Garrus, Tali and Grunt came through the doors, Garrus in the lead, holding a holo pad In a talon hand. Maria sat up quickly, reaching for the covers to pull them over her legs.

"Garrus! What the hell!" She yelled at the big turian, who looked down at her legs as she covered hers, realizing what she was wearing.

Garrus did not stop in his long strides, the smile from his face not faltering as he sat down right next to her in the bed. Tali held up her hands apologetically at the foot of the bed as Grunt stood behind Garrus, his arms crossed and a pleased expression on his face. Shepard stared at her friend in disbelief as he ignored her total lack of dress. She could feel Thane's chest vibrate behind her as he silently chuckled at her embarrassment off being caught in her underwear. He wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her close against his chest.

"Please for the love of the Spirits, tell me you were the one to beat that son-of-a-bitch Thane." Garrus voice was excited as he held up the holo pad to them.

Shepard took it from his hand and looked at the picture. There on the screen was Kadian on the ground as three medics were getting ready to put him on a stretcher, blood ran down his temple, his jaw was still clamped shut, his neck had purple hand prints on it, his arm had cut marks that looked like he got from the broken glass around him and they had him in a holo body brace that glowed blue.

Her head turned to Thane in shock, "What the hell did you do to him?"

Thane didn't even bother to look sorry, "I might have thrown him a bit too hard against the glass."

Maria raised her eyebrows at him, "And the marks around his neck?"

"I was only holding him down." Thane responded nonchalantly.

"Only holding him down huh, more like choking the life from him. Not that I'm complaining mind you." Tali spoke from the foot of the bed, obviously pleased with the assassin, which shocked Maria even more. Tali was so sweet and though she was just as talented in combat as anyone else on the team, she thought she would be the last one to condone something like this.

"He deserved worse, should have killed him." Grunt spoke from behind Garrus.

"No he shouldn't have, and I'm glad he didn't. I would have been angry about that." She looked back at the picture.

"Garrus, how did you get this?" Shepard asked, realizing that it wasn't from a news report.

Garrus took the pad back, he was going to frame it and make it I poster in the mess hall, "An anonymous sender passed it on to me, I don't know who?"

The Commander looked down in thought, then a thought came to mind, "Tali, grab me some sweat pants from the bottom drawer please."

Tali did as she asked, tossing the pants to her. Maria slipped them on under the covers, Tali and Garrus laughed at her as Grunt just stood by, not understanding what was funny. Maria glared at them, lightly whacking them over the head as she passed them. She walked quickly to her terminal, checking her email. She clicked on a picture message, the same one Garrus had showed them, but at the bottom of hers there was a short message.

_Got what he deserved Commander. Tell my dad he won't get caught and he did nice work._

_Kolyat_

She could almost see the young drell's smug grin as he wrote this.

"Kolyat." Maria grumbled under her breath, shaking her head at the screen. She clicked out of the message and turned from the computer, right into Thane's chest.

Maria jumped in surprise, "Jesus, Thane really, do you have to do that?"

Thane had a proud smile on his face, whether it was from his son's actions or scaring her she did not know.

She walked past him and stood at the top of the short stairs, "Ok everyone, this has been great fun, but get the hell out of here." She was pointing to the door, watching them with narrowed eyes as they passed.

Grunt had to stop in front of her, looking down at her with concern, "Battlemaster, are you alright?"

Her gaze softened for the large tank bred, she gave him a wide smile, "I'm fine Grunt, no harm done. You wouldn't have me as your Battlemaster if I couldn't take a punch would you?"

Grunt punched his fist together, his face growing tough, "No Battlemaster."

Maria punched his armor, "That's right, now how about you go teach Garrus what I taught you, down in the cargo bay." She gave Garrus an evil grin.

"Damn it Shepard, is this because I saw you in your underwear." Garrus threw up his hands.

Shepard crossed her arms over her chest, "Yes, it is. Now go."

Garrus left grumbling under his breath, Maria couldn't make anything out, a chuckling Tali followed behind him and a grinning Grunt left last.

Shepard felt Thane's strong arms come around her waist, pulling her back against him, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Do you think he will be ok?"

Maria smiled, she could hear a bit of concern in Thane's voice along with the amusement and curiosity, "Your _stepson, _will be fine. Garrus knows not to beat him up to badly and Grunt is becoming more skilled each day."

Shepard turned in his arms, her hands ran up his torso, up his chest, to cup his face in her hands, bringing him down for a kiss.

* * *

Kolyat stepped through the doors of the room, flowers in hand. He walked in in the room to see Commander Alanko in a white hospital bed, a blue hospital gown on with the covers drawn up to his waist as he sat back in the pillows behind him. The blue glow of the holo back brace caused the corners of Kolyat's lips to turn up, his left arm was in a metal brace that had see-through glass covers over it so you could watch the devises inside, clear away glass, clean his wounds, and set the bone in place. Looks like his father had managed to break the man's arm as well when he threw him. Kolyat walked up to the side of the bed, a trash bin was next to it. He dropped the flowers in bin, causing the human to stir from his sleep.

Kadian looked around the room groggily, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He turned his head to the left seeing a tall shape at the side of his bed, the shape started to come and to focus and the face of the blue drell from the restaurant stood there, looming over him with an unreadable expression on his face. It reminded Kaidan of the green drell that had landed him in the hospital. Kaidan actually shrunk back, his newly healed jaw clinching as he glared at the C-sec officer.

"You going to kick my ass some more, or just hold me down as the overgrown lizard finishes me off?" Kaidan spoke with anger.

Kolyat had to give it to him, the human had some balls. He was sure anyone else would be crying begging for mercy by now. Kolyat narrowed his eyes, "I'm not here to hurt you human. My father did that just fine. I came here to warn you to not even bother turning him in." Kolyat sneered down at him, fisting his gown in his hand as he pulled him close to his face, "My father will kill you, I might kill you, any part of the Commander's crew might kill you, or worse than of all that, the Commander herself might kill you."

Kadian reached up with his good hand, holding onto the drell's wrist, he was getting sick of the man handling, "I wasn't going to turn him in, not like I have proof, he disabled the cameras." His face became solemn, "I deserved what I got anyways. So tell your dad I got the message, I won't come near him and his _woman _again."

Kolyat dropped the human back to the bed, shock covered his face. _My father's woman, I was right there is something more going on._ Kolyat spoke without realizing, "His woman? They're together?"

Kadian smirked at him, "What's the matter kid, the Commander not good enough to be your step mommy."

Kolyat's face screwed up in anger, and he did the first thing that came to mind, he head butted the human right in the nose, hearing it crunch under his skull. The Commander screamed in pain holding his nose with his right hand, blood spilling forward. Kolyat left the room before the nurses could find him in there. He had snuck into the room, disabling the cameras in the hallway and posing as a visitor for someone else so no one had known he was there in the Commander's room, the C-sec uniform and his good looks had been able to help him charm his way through without signing in, so it was as if he was never there.

Kolyat walked briskly out of the hospital not knowing where he was going just knowing he needed to get out of there and clear his mind. He actually really liked the Commander but he didn't know how he felt or should feel about his father with another woman, and they didn't even tell him. Kolyat talked to himself under his breath not noticing where his feet were leading him. It wasn't until he almost was run over by a cargo truck that he realized where he was. In front of him, a few yards away was the Normandy, he had walked all the way to the docking bay.

**Hope you all like it =). Review!**


	22. Questions

**I am so very sorry that I have not updated in a while, school has cut into my writing big time and I just started a new story it's a Kolyat/Shepard story so if you are interested go check it out. I promise the next chapter is probably going to be up tonight as well and I will try to get them out faster. **

"What does this say?" Thane asked, pointing to the tattoo on her left forearm.

Thane had been asking her questions about her tattoos for the last hour now, she had finally been able to explain what her cross represented and the story behind it, along with the chi-rho. The gun holsters were something she got with her brother, but his was a body piece that looked like police officer holsters that went across his back and came around to his ribs. Emilio, had been a police officer for two years back on Earth, but chose to enlist in the military later, for reasons nobody really knew, not even his family. The angel wings he really seemed to love, he told her they were perfect for a Siha, she just rolled her eyes and told him it was something her sister and her had gotten done on Latikia's eighteenth birthday; hers were purple and white. The black and gray rose design was just for her, because roses were her favorite flower and she had thought the picture beautiful. The rounded hand blades on her hips were to symbolize her mastery of being able to use them, she had spent eight years learning while in the military. She was very proud of not only being able to fight with guns and her fists, but swords and knives as well. The cross was something all four siblings, including her youngest brother Gabriel, had. All of them had them done in the same place, the exact same design.

Now Thane was pointing to the writing she had on the back of her arm.

"It's a prayer. It says: God grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change. The courage, to change the things I can. And the wisdom, to know the difference." She recited the prayer, a look of peace on her face.

Thane traced the letters with his finger, speaking to her without looking up, "Why did you pick this prayer?"

Maria took a breath before answering, "It is a good thing to remember in the military." Thane looked into her eyes, engrossed in what she had to say, "Many soldier drive themselves insane remembering the things they couldn't change, blaming themselves for those things. When you're a soldier, you see horrible things that make it hard to sleep at night. What we need to understand, what anyone needs to understand really, is that there are things we cannot change, even the simplest things. Once that time has past it cannot be taken back. Either because there was nothing we could do or the moment is gone. But then you need to remember that if you have the ability to make a difference you have the responsibility to do so, this takes courage. Last, is being able to tell when the situation is something that you can change or if it's beyond your capability. This was the first tattoo I got after leaving the Reds, and it's something I never forget." Shepard stared at him with a meaningful look, hoping he would take what she said to heart, he could do with understanding it with his guilt he still carried around about Irikah's death.

Thane looked at her with his fathomless deep green eyes that were almost black, his gaze flickered down to the tattoo then to her face again, he gave her a slight nod, letting her know he understood.

"What of these two, they look like they are meant to resemble humans?" Thane skimmed his fused fingers over the colorful drawing that took over her right bicep.

He saw the sad smile that graced her lips as she looked down at it, "My parents." She breathed, never taking her eyes off the faces.

Thane stared at the two white skulls in renewed wonder. The clearly female one had long wavy brown hair a large bright pink rose sat on the side of her head, threaded perfectly into her realistic hair. The hollowed eyes were completely green, the same as Maria's, and the swirls around each side of her mouth and down her chin and dotted face paint around the eyes, was a deep red, Maria's favorite color. The male skull had long stick straight hair, it was pitch black and a dark brown and black feather hung from the locks. The eyes were left uncolored, making them the same light brown as her skin, and his face markings were very different than her mothers. His had four, slightly curved black lines running through his left eye, and two thick horizontal lines swept across the right cheek, the top line was the same red as the markings on the woman's face and the bottom a deep blue. The two were surrounded by a shaded effect of gold and red, the picture was beautiful and showed that it had deep meaning to the Commander, what Thane could not understand was why would someone care so much for people that had abandoned them, just to raise another family.

Thane had not asked about what she had told Kolyat that day she had cornered him in the hotel maintenance room, they had been preoccupied by other things. A smile played on his lips as he thought of their first night together, the night before, one of many if he had anything to do with it.

Now that Thane thought about it, there were many thing he needed to ask her, the tattoos had been one that he just had been burning to ask her for a while. He still wanted to know of her past and what happened with her family, things about the old Normandy and why exactly did she agree to meet with his son and what was her version of what happened during their meeting. But for now he would continue focus on the tattoos.

Thane's hand trailed down her leg, causing her take in a breath at the pleasure she got from feeling his hand run down her leg. It stopped, directly over the feather design she had, the last tattoo he had yet to ask about. Thane had a feeling it had something to do with her father, the feather in his hair reminded him of the feathers she had on her leg.

"And what about this one?" His low voice was almost seductive, the hold on her leg, his stretched out position along the side of her body, and his other arm tucked in under her neck was not helping the situation, it was all very intimate and distracting. _Him being half naked doesn't help either, but I do enjoy the view._

Maria pulled her eyes away from his well defined abs to look at her leg. She remembered when she had gotten that. She had been going through the basket that she had never been able to receive due to her stupidity. The feathers and bead hair decoration had been in there, she remembered pulling them out and wearing them around while she was off duty, that's how she got the nickname 'Little Indian' from her friends and officers.

Maria looked up at Thane, her eyes losing the distant look that told him he had lost her for a second in memory, "They were my father's, he left them for me and since a Commander can't walk around with feathers in her hair, I had them tattooed so they would always be with me."

Thane had so many questions about her parents, and why it seemed that she loved and cared for them so much? And how she had managed to forgive them for what they had done? There was obviously something he was missing here and wanted to find out, but not today. He had asked so many questions today and they had caused her to slip into memories more than once and the day had been trying enough for her.

Thane's hand went to her face, his thumb running along a very thin orange scar that still shone lightly against her cheek, sometimes when she became very angry you could see them shine brighter, but that was rare. His Siha had a good control on her emotions when she needed to but would not hesitate in putting a gun to someone's head to get what she wanted. _You're the most dangerous assassin in the galaxy and yet you found the one woman that could kill you in seconds to be your Siha, how did that happen?_ Thane smirked at his thoughts before leaning down to capture her lips with his. There kiss was slow, both taking their time to savor the time they had with each other. They did not need to rush things, they had no duties to perform and the entire crew would be stopping their own work in a few minutes, they had the entire night to themselves.

"Uh. Commander?" Joker's voice was probably the most unholy sound Maria could think of hearing at the moment, her reply called for her to remove her lips from her lovers mouth.

The irritation was evident in Maria's voice, causing Thane to smile at his previous thoughts of her being able to have control over her emotions, "What Joker? I swear this better be something important or Thane's coming up there to talk with you again!"

Thane let out a chuckle at her threat, Maria grinning at him before returning her eyes to the ceiling. She had heard about what he had done and had dropped to the floor laughing.

Joker's voice sounded annoyed when he spoke, "Yeah well just thought you should know there is a blue drell banging on the doors of the ship asking for permission to come in. He is asking for you Commander."

Thane bolted up right off the bed, grabbing his vest as Maria pulled her black sweat pants back on, calling to Joker as Thane and her moved toward the doors, "Let him in Joker, and tell him I'll be right there."

* * *

"Alright kid come in, but stand by for decontamination. The Commander will meet you when you come in." Kolyat heard a man's voice speak through the intercom, the first kind word he had said to him since he tried to gain entrance to the ship. Kolyat stepped back, allowing the doors to open and the bright lights of the decontamination entrance greeted him. Kolyat shivered as the sterilizing beam passed over him, it left his body cold. A ding let out as the doors came open and he rushed in, rubbing his arms trying to get rid of the chilling feeling.

"Cold isn't it? You get used to it." The Commander's kind accented voice spoke from his right. She was walking down a long tunnel like hall of many bright flashing lights and rows of chairs of empty seats. He could see a couple of crew men behind her talking and staring at her back. He caught his own father's eye walking right behind the Commander, absent of his leather jacket. His father had worry in his eyes, not even aware of what was coming. Kolyat's brows knitted in anger, completely focused on his father, Maria couldn't understand where the anger was coming from and wasn't about to let a fight break out between father and son, Kolyat looked like he was out for Thane's blood.

Shepard quickened her step, placing a hand on the young man's exposed for arm, the skin contact drew his attention to her immediately. Kolyat stared down at the Commander, her eyes knowing, warning, worried and kind all at the same time. He felt his clench jaw loosening, his eye ridges relaxing, her bright green eyes looked nothing like his mother's sunset colored ones as his father had called them, but they held the same kind of emotion and authority behind them. His mother had been the only one that could calm his temper, and somehow this one had the same effect. He didn't know why, but she did stop him from screaming and possibly tackling his father, regardless of her being the very woman taking his mother's place.

Kolyat took in her appearance, her casual cloths absent of any weapons. She was so short and so small, just by the look of her you would never have thought her capable of the things that she was said to have done. It was her eyes, the stubborn set to her jaw, her stance and the aura around her that let you know this was a very deadly woman and you were in danger if you crossed her. Right now, she wasn't trying to be threatening just soothing with a slight edge that let him know that he should think before he spoke. His brows drew together in confusion at the marks on her neck, they hadn't been there when they had lunch, and it looked like a varen had used her as a chew toy. Kolyat's eyes lowered, the marks went down to her breast and disappeared into her shirt, it slowly dawned on him what those marks were. His jaw tightened once more and his eyes shot to hers, a scowl spread across his mouth, he didn't give her a look filled with hatred, but hurt. Maria tightened her hold on his arm, her gaze become a bit harder, trying to get him to calm down.

Kolyat managed to keep his voice calm, but it was thick with emotion, "I need to talk to you. Now!"

Maria nodded her head, looking to Thane who had caught on to his son's hostility towards him and wisely stood back from the pair, letting Maria handle it. She seemed to be able to calm him, something only Irikah had been able to do when his sons out of control temper escaped him. He felt his heart contract at the amount of affection she showed his son and the obvious comfortableness that his son had with his Siha. Hopefully he would react well to the news of their relationship, but this sudden appearance might be the result of him finding out. Thane didn't know how, but he watched as Kolyat eyed the uncovered marks he had left on Maria and knew that he was putting something together in his head. When he expressed that he needed to talk to her Thane's body tensed, if his son hurt her, he wouldn't hesitate to take him down. Maria gave him a look that said that she would be fine before she guided Kolyat to the elevator.

"Maria." Thane spoke her first name for the first time, he must be very worried.

"I'll be fine Thane." She answered over her shoulder, not breaking Kolyat's and her progress to the elevator. She gave him a small smile before the doors closed on the pair, she still had a firm grip on Kolyat's arm.

Thane let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding, his eyes trained on the light on the elevator until it switched to the loft, letting him know his son and Siha were now alone in her room, talking about gods knew what.

Thane's head turned quickly to the ever present purple cipher that sat next to Joker's chair, he walked the short distance over to the pilot's chair, speaking in a quick but in a calm voice, "EDI, can you turn on the speakers in the loft, so I can hear what is being said?"

EDI's interface started blinking and opening as if she actually had a mouth to speak with, "Shepard has blocked all channels to her rooms, unless authorized by herself."

"Crap." Thane whispered.

**Please don't kill me, like I said the next part is coming tonight so you wont have to wait long, I just really wanted to get something up. Please review and tell me what you think of how I described her tattoos, or how you think I'm doing describing the way the characters think. Do you like it, do you not like it? I don't care just review and tell me your opinion.**


	23. Answers

**Hope you guys like it, my beta was a tremendous help as always and was great with all the editing and revising , I love her =)! **

Maria came around the corner of her glass ship collection after giving EDI the orders to kill all through channels in her room, knowing Thane would try to listen in. They had kept things from Kolyat already, violation of privacy shouldn't be added to the list. Maria leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs, watching Kolyat look around the room curiously. He took in the massive fish tank, devoid of fish, then the couch and the neat and orderly desk next to it. Then his eyes landed on the bed, his father's jacket lay out on top of the rumbled covers. Kolyat walked over snatching up the leather jacket bunching the material in his tightly clenched first. Anger, betrayal and hate rushed through him. Maria's eye twitched as she watched him, holding the material at eye level as his fists shook slightly.

Finally he threw it down on the bed again with a hiss, as if the touch of the jacket had scolded him, his voice thick with bitterness, "Guess I found the answer to my question then."

Maria arched a brow at him, he turned to face her slowly, his body stiff with pent up anger, "How did you find out?"

Kolyat's lips turned into a sneer, "That fucking Alliance guy, Kaidan you called him. Paid him a visit in the hospital, he said something about you being my father's woman, looks like he was right." His eyes were dark with betrayal as he watched her.

Maria closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose to ease the headache that was coming. Shepard opened her eyes and pushed off the wall, descending the stairs and coming to stand closer to the young man, "Kolyat. I can't say anything to make this right. Maybe we should have told you sooner…"

"Yeah, you should have. Like the day you shot me perhaps." He cut her off belligerently crossing his arms over his wide chest, looking more like a four year old who wasn't getting his way than a six foot - three, grown man.

Maria had to take a breath in order to keep from slapping him, she didn't like him talking her to like that and how he threw the fact that she shot him in her face, he didn't seem to care at lunch. If he was going to act like an unruly child she would treat him like one. She was old school, she was not above hitting a kid, she had demonstrated that to her siblings when they mouth offed or had gotten into serious trouble she had smacked them around, just like the padre and sisters had done to any of the other kids in the orphanage. Most people didn't know the difference between abuse and a spanking and she never crossed the line into abuse, though if she had ever caught her siblings doing anything crazy like drugs or get into the gangs she would have. Maria was reminded of what she had planned to do to Kolyat when she entered that room with him, she wanted to kick his ass, and though he might be hurting and confused she would still kick his ass now if he didn't watch himself.

"Kolyat, sit down and we will talk. You must have something to say about all this, but I'm not going to let you be disrespectful about it. Sit down like an adult and talk to me." She turned her back on him and planted herself on the couch, sitting crossed legged, she stared at him expectedly.

Kolyat blinked several times, his body rigid, "Why should I even talk to you now. I don't even know why I came here." he turned cold eyes on her, but she could see that it was hurt and not anger that caused him to look at her like that, "Looks like my father only cares about finding someone to warm his bed. Maybe your friend was right, you're just…."

Kolyat didn't get to finish his sentence, Maria bolted off the couch, grabbing the collar of Kolyat's jacket and forcing his head down so she could get right in his face, "Refer to me as a whore again," She paused, her lips setting in a deep scowl, "I dare you." She whispered.

Kolyat looked at her with narrowed eyes, a want to disobey, but realizing that she might throw him through that fish tank made him hold his tongue.

"If you came here to insult me or your father I will glad send you to the same hospital your father landed Kaidan in, I'll even call ahead so you can share the same room, but if you came here to get questions answered and talk as a grown adult then sit your ass down and start talking." Maria pushed him away from her, hard enough to make him stumble into the metal wall behind him.

Shepard walked back to her spot on the couch and resumed her previous position, staring at Kolyat with hard eyes. Kolyat leaned against the wall, glaring at the floor. He lifted his eyes to stare at her, his anger burning through him, he wanted to rant and rave. He wanted to yell at her and his father. He wanted her not to be with his father. Right now he felt like they had shoved his mother aside, forgetting about her. He hated that, and then they had the audacity to hide this from him and not expect him to be angry. He stared at her for a few moments, taking a deep breath to calm his anger and think rationally. He would have a calm talk with her instead of one in anger. He didn't think she would stand for it and he wanted answers.

He didn't want to make this easy but he slowly began torelax, feeling like a jackass for what he had said. He wasn't a bad guy and he didn't usually act like an asshole, especially to woman, but all this was just too much for him to take. He pushed off the wall and straightened the collar of his jacket, keeping his head down as he walked to the couches, sitting across from her he placed his arms on his knees, his head hung in between them as he hunched his back. He was the poster child for teenage angst right now. Maria found that a bit amusing but did not laugh, still slightly pissed off at what he had been saying, but she understood where the attitude and turmoil was coming from, so she waited patiently for him to start speaking.

Finally, Kolyat spoke his voice low and all anger gone, "I don't know what to think about all this." He raised his head to look at her, his face open and innocent, "I just got my dad back in my life, I just learned what really happened to my mom, we sort of had a nice moment in the car, I thought that maybe things could be good between us….then this is sprung on me. In the last forty-eight hours I have had a lot thrown my way and my dad having a new woman in his life was the last thing I thought I would have to deal with."

Maria squinted her eyes in sympathy, she couldn't understand what he was feeling but she could imagine the idea of his father replacing his mother was not a pleasant feeling. She need to get that cleared up for sure, "Kolyat, I hope you know that I'm not trying to replace Irikah."

Kolyat's eyes grew wide in surprise, "You know my mom's name?"

Maria gave him a gentle smile, "Yes I do. I know a lot about your mother. From the way your father speaks about her, the galaxy is a lesser place with her passing. He hasn't forgotten her Kolyat, he thinks and speaks about her every day and continues to love her and mourns her death."

The corners of Kolyat's mouth curved in a faint smile, it was nice to know his father spoke of his mother and wasn't just ignoring her memory and finding relief in the arms of another. It was even better to know that she seemed pleased that his father spoke of his wife and still loved her, she almost seemed like she encourage it.

Maria continued, "We should have told you, and we were going to eventually I'm sure. With everything that has gone down in only two days we just didn't think about it, and we haven't even talked about how to go about telling you. Truthfully, this whole relationship thing is new, it only happened last week, at least actually acknowledging our feelings, there were obvious signs that we care for each other just nothing happened." Maria stopped her rambling, realizing she was getting into info that didn't need to be shared.

Kolyat looked at her, his expression emotionless. _So they haven't even gotten a chance to figure out the new relationship. And he spoke about mom to her. I guess if there was a woman he had to be with, this human would be the best choice right? She is dangerous, in the same line of work, a bit crazy, but I like her. Though she did shoot me? _Kolyat quirked a smile at her, amused by his last thought and her moment of unease at her tangent. She gave a small smile back. For some reason it was hard to remain mad at this woman or angry around her, she had a calming effect on him that he hadn't felt since being around his mother.

Kolyat gave out a small laugh, "You know, it pissed me off to think that he had just chose to ignore my mom's memory and jump into the arms of the first woman he saw, but it's nice to know he still remembers, that he talks about her." His voice became emotional at the end and a tear slid down his cheek that he couldn't stop.

Maria bowed her head, "He loves her very much and he will never forget her." Maria's lips turned in a smirk, "Isn't that supposed to be impossible with you guys anyways, perfect memory and all, you will probably be retelling that story of me shooting you on my death bed in perfect clarity, probably drive me to an early grave with your whining about that little scratch."

Kolyat snorted in amusement, "Little scratch, the wound was an inch deep. I'm surprised they didn't have to dig the thing out of my arm." Kolyat was grateful for the light hearted banter it distracted him from painful memories.

Maria rolled her eyes, "I barely grazed you. If you had listened instead of trying to play assassin I wouldn't have needed to shoot you."

Kolyat gave a low laugh, raising his eyes to her and giving her a grin, "Yeah. That was pretty stupid wasn't it?"

Maria stood from the couch folding her arms over her chest as she looked down at him, "Very. And what was even stupider was you trying to run, you're lucky you didn't get a bullet to the leg."

Kolyat rose from his own spot, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Sorry about that, and thanks for not crippling me."

Shepard gave him a wide smile, "No problem, now I expect you to work hard for C-sec. You have potential and you're a quick bastard, you will do well."

Kolyat gave her a big smile, straightening his back and giving her a mock salute, his hands over his eyes instead of at his brow ridges. The stance made her laugh hard and she reached up, fixing his hand and nodding to him.

Kolyat laughed as well, relaxing his arms to his side. His face grew a bit more serious, "Thank you Commander, for everything. You really saved me back there and…" Kolyat paused looking at the ground then back up to her face, "My father…he is lucky to have you and thank you for helping him find me. I finally have a chance at a real family with the little family that is left." Kolyat blinked a few times, looking at her meaningfully, "You know, you remind me a lot of my mother."

Maria drew her head back in shock at that; she hadn't expected that sort of complement from him.

Kolyat smiled at her reaction, "A crazy, shorter, more dangerous version of my mother."

Maria narrowed her eyes at him good naturedly, "Ok did you have to throw the short joke in there, honestly it hurts my feelings."

The fake pout on her face was comical and Kolyat laughed loudly, his head moving to the side, trying to regain composure. His eyes did a double take at what he guessed to be a black and red jacket, he couldn't be sure the colors were shifting back and forth causing a pleasant rippling effect between the colors. He remembered staring at things that were black and dark red for long periods of time as a child, thinking the switching was funny. He picked up the drell leather jacket, and immediately realizing this couldn't be his fathers, it looked like a very small kid would fit into this thing.

"Uh. Please tell me I don't have a little brother that I don't know about?" Kolyat asked, turning the jacket in his hands.

Maria snatched the coat from his hands, "No. It's mine! Your father bought it for me today, along with Luke." Maria held the jacket close to her chest protectively.

Kolyat fell back on the couch, holding his stomach as his whole body shook with the force of his laughter. Maria just arched an eyebrow at him, throwing the jacket over her shoulders and slipping her arms into it. She crossed her arms over her chest waiting for him to calm down.

Kolyat managed to speak through his laughter, "Wait…you are telling me…he got you a man's jacket." Kolyat sat up, a few more breaths of laughter escaping him until he was able to speak seriously, "Why would he do that? No drell woman would ever be caught wearing this."

Maria just gave him a bored look, "Do I look like a drell?"

Kolyat stood again, grinning mischievously at her, "No, you're too short and that stuff on your head. I don't even know what it's called, and the skin. Yeah, definitely not a drell."

Maria slapped his arm lightly, turning her back on him and leading the way up the stairs.

"Oww! I just got that arm fixed, thank you!" He called to her back as he followed her up the stairs.

"Yeah, well it's about to be broken if you make fun of me again, and just so you know." She turned around to face him, "I asked your father a long time ago where he got the jacket, I thought it was cool." She shrugged her shoulders. Kolyat looked at her, his head tilting dramatically to the side as his eyes looked at the jacket on her. Actually, he had to admit, she looked good in it, the colors constantly shifting made the look even more interesting. But still to have a woman express a desire to wear men's clothing was very comical.

Kolyat's brows crinkled as he straightened his head, remembering her saying something about a 'Luke'. _What the hell is a Luke? _"What else did you say my father got you, a Luke? What's that?"

Maria laughed as she waved him over to her shelves, sticking her hand into the glass box and pulling out Luke, "This is Luke." She held the furry animal in his face.

Kolyat stared down at the animal in her hand, "That's a hamster." He pointed at the space hamster, the pet's nose and whiskers twitching as it sniffed the drell's finger.

"No shit." Maria commented sarcastically, placing the hamster back in his bowl, "I named him Luke."

Kolyat nodded his head, his full lips mouthing an 'oh'. Maria shook her head at the drell, moving past him to the doorway, "Ok kid, now you are going to have to go down there and speak to your father. Lord knows he is probably driving himself crazy not knowing what's going on up here."

Kolyat's face grew grim, looking to the ground as he nodded.

Maria came closer to him, lifting his chin, "Hey, it's no different than talking to me." She assured him, "Your father loves you and since you haven't taken a swing at me I'm going to guess you don't mind me. So please I'm asking you to not yell or get angry at him. Talk with him, hear him out and know that he loves you and your mother."

Kolyat stared down at her, noticing not once had she spoke of his father's feelings for her or hers for him, "And you, do you love him?"

Maria let her hand fall to her side, searching his eyes for any signs that she couldn't give an honest answer. It only took her a second before she answered, "Yes I do, more than I ever thought I could love someone outside of my family." Kolyat could see the same look that shone in her eyes that his mother had had when she spoke of his father, he knew that this was a good thing and he would not berate his father.

Kolyat nodded, "Thank you Shepard, and I still expect you to answer my questions!"

Maria smiled at the young man as they walked into the elevator, "I look forward to it."

**Please Review! **


	24. La Familia

**Hope you guys like =). Remember that Kasumi's mission will be very different from the game so hope you guys are still with me.**

"Are you coming Siha?" Thane asked from behind her, his voice thick with amusement, knowing that she was dreading going down to the crew deck.

Maria made an annoyed sound in the back of her throat, typing the last sentence on her terminal before sending the message off. Shepard turned in her chair, lacing her hands in her lap as she looked up at Thane with an irritated expression, "You know, you are enjoying this way too much."

Thane chuckled, he placed both his hands on either arm of the chair, leaning in so he was close to her, "I am very pleased that Kolyat and you are speaking, but I must admit that the idea of watching you try on the many dresses that Kasumi and Ms. Lawson have bought you is most enticing." The smug look on his face was both annoying and pleasing to see. Suddenly he pulled on her arms, gently enough to not hurt her, but firm enough that he got her out of the chair and with a yelp from the Commander, Thane threw her over his shoulder and headed for the door, "I'm not letting you stall any longer."

Maria growled pushing on his shoulders but knew there was no use, he was too strong. _Stupid drell! _She silently fumed"You didn't complain when I dragged you to my bed not an hour ago, or the shower!"

Thane laughed as he pressed the button for the crew deck, "I might want to see you get dressed up but I'm not a stupid man. I much prefer taking your clothes off then to putting more on you."

Maria angrily cussed at him in Spanish so the actual words were lost on him, but it could be heard from outside of the elevator all the way down to the crew deck. When the doors opened, Thane walked casually through the crew deck, ignoring the stares he got from some of the crewmen as he carried a glaring Shepard through the doors of Kasumi's room.

"Ay, how did I know she would have to be forced down here. Good work Thane." Miranda's amused voice spoke from the couch. Kelly, Kasumi, Tali, Samara and Miranda were sitting on the couch and the bed. Even Jack had come up from her hiding hole to watch this. Garrus, Jacob, Grunt, Zaeed and her were over by the bar, all with different neon colored drinks in their hands. Thane let the Commander slip from his shoulder, down his body. She narrowed her eyes at him which only caused him to smile and bend down to kiss her neck before moving to the bar too sit on a stool next to Garrus, the big turian handing him a blue colored drink.

Maria was not looking forward to any of this. For the three days they had been on the Citadel, Kasumi and Miranda had brought back bags and bags of what she was guessing were the dresses she was going to have to try on, they had even recruited Tali, Kelly, and Samara to help them. Now they were on their one day journey to Bekenstein, to crash a party held by a criminal named Donovan Hock in order to steal back the gray box that was stolen from Kasumi. So now came the dreaded activity of picking one of these dresses, which almost the whole squad had come to see. She felt like throwing them out but wasn't going to ruin their fun, they all put their lives on the line because she asked them to almost everyday, the least she could do is let them have some fun with this.

"You're all so lucky I have a sense of humor, or I would airlock all of you." Maria grumbled as she folded her arms over her chest, waiting for the women to pull out the bags so they could get started.

"Then you would be fighting this war on your own, and I would be saving a spot for you in the afterlife just so I could tell you 'I told you so'." Garrus commented sarcastically, coming up beside her and draping an arm around her shoulder, a large turian grin on his face.

"_B__é__same el culo." _Shepard hissed, narrowing her eyes at her friend.

"I'm pretty sure Thane would kill me." Garrus answered, the smile never fading from his face.

"Alright you two stop bickering. Shepard come over here and pick a dress." Kasumi grunted out, dragging multiple bags in front of the couch, Miranda and Samara right behind her carrying several more.

"Jesus Christ, how much did you buy?" Maria asked, eyeing the bags disdainfully.

"Well they are not all dresses, some are shoe boxes and others are jewelry boxes." Tali explained in her heavily accented voice.

"I'm telling you right now. I will not take my cross off." Maria held a warning in her voice that left no room for argument. Not even Miranda was going to try and say anything.

"Ok that's fine. We have bracelets, earrings, armbands, ankle bracelets, and even rings." Kasumi answered, a smile on her face as she started to pull out dresses, thankfully most were either black or very dark colors.

"I have a ring I can wear, it's gold with a ruby heart in the middle. I guess whatever jewelry is gold I would pull out." Shepard told them.

"Alright, Kelly started sifting through the jewelry. Shepard, get behind the changing screen and put this on." Miranda was holding out an ankle long dark blue dress.

"Wait. I'm going to need a drink if I'm going to do this." Maria shrugged off Garrus' arm and turned to the bar, Zaeed already had a neon pink drink waiting for her. She gave him a smile as she took it, throwing back the drink with ease. The old mercenary already had another made, this time blue, and she knocked that back as well. He handed her one last one, purple, mixing the two drinks she had just had, she took it and threw her head back one last time, relishing the feel of the sweet spicy taste sliding down her throat, a pleasant warmth spreading over her as she smiled.

"Thank you." She told him.

"No problem kid. Now go get dolled up so we can laugh at you." Zaeed pointed to the changing screen, a grin on his face.

Maria turned and snatched the dress from Miranda's hand, going behind the screen so she could change. Maria slipped out of her dark blue jeans and gray t-shirt and stepping into the dress and pulling it up her hips and hooking the halter clasp on the back of her neck. She looked into the full length mirror that was positioned on the back of the screen, the color of the dress really complemented her skin tone and the high slit on the right side showed off her shapely legs and tattoos. The dip in the dress exposed the tops of her breasts and the cut out down the stomach showed of her flat toned belly. She really did like the dress but didn't feel like it was the one she wanted to wear, besides the blue didn't go with the gold and red of her jewelry.

"I don't think this one is it, I would take anything blue, or green out of the pile, they don't look good with my jewelry." Shepard called from behind the screen.

"Ok, but come on out, let us see it at least, if anything Kasumi and me can get a feel for what the dress will look like in case we want to wear it." Miranda called to her.

"God damn it." Maria grumbled under her breath, receiving a chuckle from Thane and Garrus from across the room. "Shut up you two."

Shepard flipped her long brown hair over her shoulders, just the way she liked it before stepping out, a long whistle from Jacob was heard from the bar. Miranda, Kasumi, and Tali milled around her to get a better look at her in the dress.

"Your right Shep, the gold doesn't go with it, but I might like to wear that, not sure yet." Kasumi told her, handing her another dress to try on, black this time.

This went on for the next hour, her trying on dresses, receiving the opinion of the other, sometimes laughs when she would fume about the particular dress she was wearing, or someone would make a short joke. Everyone found it very amusing when she started to try on the shoes, some of them so ridiculously high that she couldn't even walk, she didn't know how Miranda could when she tried them on. So it finally came down to two choices and one last dress to try on.

"Ok Shep, this last one is my favorite and I think you will like it." Kasumi said excitedly.

Maria took the dress from her, the silk of it smooth under her hands, the gold pattern on it making her curious about what it could be. She shimmied out of the black dress she had on and threw it over the screen, slipped the dress over her head and slid her arms into the long sleeves. She turned towards the mirror and looked at her reflection, her eyes running over the beautiful dress that stopped just above her knee. The black silk shimmered in the low light, and she couldn't help trace the gold design of the dragon on the material. The tail started at her left shoulder as the long body ran down the length of her side and across her lower torso, the head stopping near the bottom, its red gleaming eyes the same color as her rubies she wore. In its claws it clutched a large red cherry blossom, right below her stomach. The dress had a high side collars, but a v-neck that dipped very low between her breasts, she would need to wear a different bra then the one she had on, but the neck line showed off her cross perfectly against her tan skin. Her favorite part of the dress was the sleeves. Along them were two smaller, thinner dragons that trailed down and around her arms, two on each sleeve which were somewhat long and flowing, she would be able to hide a blade in them easily. The whole thing reminded her of a Japanese kimono that a friend of hers had had, her grandmother had been a kimono seamstress and Maria had always loved the beautiful artwork that went into them.

"All the women get in here." Maria called to them, not taking her eyes off her reflection.

The woman crew members pilled behind the screen, Kelly, Kasumi, and Tali gasped while Miranda gave her an approving nod, Samara gave her a beaming smile that was rare for her beautiful and stoic features, and even Jack had a small smile for the Commander, letting her know she liked it.

"You look beautiful Commander, this should be the one you wear." Samara's soft voice spoke.

"I think I'm going to, this is really amazing Kasumi." The Commander smiled to the thief, who tipped her head to the woman.

"So I guess we know what you're wearing, and the chandelier earrings will go perfect with the dress and the gold ankle bracelet. The black heels you picked are ok as well, should be higher with that dress but we don't want you breaking your ankle now do we." Miranda summed up, receiving a glare at the end from her Commander.

"Hey, don't we get to see!" Garrus' called from the bar. All the men were staring at the screen waiting for Shepard to come out.

"I picked which dress already, looks like the show is over." Maria answered back.

Garrus set his empty glass on the bar, "Shepard, get out here or I'm dragging you out."

"No you are not, I could be in my underwear for all you know now! Thane's not going to let you come back here." Her smug voice spoke back.

Garrus looked to Thane behind him, "Move toward that screen and I'll break your legs." Thane's calm deep voice told him, his face completely blank but Garrus knew he wasn't lying.

They heard giggling from the other side of the room from the woman. Garrus huffed and sat back in his chair, "You should have gone behind there then." He told Thane.

"What and risk bodily harm from all the female squad members, do I look stupid?" Thane laughed at his friend, clapping him on the back.

"You really don't want me answering that." Maria was dressed in her jeans and t-shirt again, her bare feet making no sound as she walked over to them, slipping an arm around Thane's waist.

"So battlemaster, what's your plan for this mission." Though Grunt wasn't going with them he still wanted to know what his battlemaster was walking into.

Maria turned her head toward the large tank bred, "We haven't really come up with one, and since everyone is here we should do that. Zaeed, Jack, Samara and Grunt I want you to stay because if we need back up I want you read to come in." Maria stepped back from Thane and spoke to the ceiling, "EDI can you project the layout of the mansion please, and call Mordin down here."

EDI complied and a large layout of Hock's mansion was projected in the center of the room. Five minutes later, the salarian scientists walked through the doors, taking a place next to Thane at the bar, turning down the drink that was offered him. The Commander eased into her leadership roll easily and her team listened diligently as she went over what she thought would be the best plan, people started to comment and throw around their idea's as well, but all looked to their Commander for the final say.

The hour started to get late as the team formed the best plan to get in Hawk's vault and then proceeded to come up with a plan that would get them out safely. Kasumi already had a gold statue of Saran being sent to the party as a gift, from Shepard whose code name would be Alison Gunn. She would be accompanied by Thane and Miranda, Thane would pose as her business partner and Miranda as his date, both with code names of their own. The Cerberus woman had given the Commander a raised brow at that, but considering it was Maria's idea she felt safe in thinking the woman wouldn't take her head off. The next team would be bringing their own gift as well, both offerings would house guns but no armor, too many of them were going to take their armor so Mordin's special tech he had designed for Jack's cloths would help them protect themselves from any trouble they got into. Garrus would be leading the second team, Tali, Jacob and Kasumi would be going with them, each woman were supposed to be the date of the men. Maria had a good chuckle over Tali calling her a _bosh'teta _for making her Garrus' date, which caused Garrus to wrap an arm around her and fake being insulted which Tali's only reply was that she had a shotgun. They would all enter right behind each other, Shepard's team first but only Shepard would know Garrus so that would be the excuse for them to be able to communicate, but they did not want everyone to seem like they were acquainted with each other, easier to blend in with a smaller group and act as if they were only socializing. Once in, Kasumi would need to cloak and find the security systems main frame, then she would speak to everyone through their comms and tell what exactly they were working with. She guessed that there would be a DNA scanner, but how powerful would be uncertain, some were so easy you could use dust that a person might have put their hands on, some you would actually have to take the hand from their body to get past. Kasumi was betting it was one of the best so it wouldn't be easy getting samples. There could be floor lasers, machine guns set up, voice password, pressure sensitive plates, eye scanners, they couldn't know for sure until they got there.

Shepard made do with what they knew and was able to come up with a descent plan. As their group meeting came to a close Gardner came through the doors, poking his head in to see if it was ok to interrupt.

Maria turned her head to the mess sergeant and waved him in with a kind smile, "_Qué pasó?" _

Gardner was actually catching on to her language and knew what she was asking, "Just wanted to tell you all that dinners up. You guys have been in here so long that the rest of the crewmen have already cleared out and gone to bed. Kept your plates warm, just put them in the sink when you're done. I'm going to go watch the game with the rest of the boys." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder, shouting could be heard from the crew quarters.

Maria nodded her head, "Thanks' Gardner. Hey, tell Donnelly he owes me some money if Manchester wins!"

Gardner gave her a thumbs up before exiting, leaving the squad to clean up their glasses and file out of the room for some dinner.

They all sat themselves around the many tables, all chatting and talking about various things. The upcoming mission, the dresses that Shepard had tried on, what guns to bring, who was stronger, Jack or Zaeed, which resulted in an arm wrestling match that saw Jack beat which caused a mini brawl between the young biotic and the mercenary, that Grunt found very exciting. Maria had snuck off on two occasions to see how the _fútbol _game, as she called it, which most of the aliens didn't get, was going. Turns out her team, Manchester United was up four to two against Donnelly's team, which caused a slew of cursing from the man that had Maria laughing all the way back to her seat between Thane and Samara.

"Hey, don't forget about my money you son-of-a-bitch!" Maria cupped her hand over her mouth so her voice would trail down the hall to the loud shouting coming from the rooms.

"The game is not over Commander!" The engineer replied.

"Oh sit down Donnelly and watch yourself lose some money" Doctor Chakwas voice was heard from the room. The older woman was also a fan of Maria's team.

Shepard just chuckled and turned to the boxing match in the middle of the room, now between Jack and Grunt. Jack thankfully wasn't using her biotics crazily, just lighting up her hands so her punches would have more force behind it. Grunt had a big grin on his face, enjoying the chance to be in any kind of fight, he was controlled enough to not cause serious harm but he wasn't going easy either, but neither was Jack. Jacob, Garrus, and Zaeed were circled around the pair, making sure they didn't break a window or anything in the kitchen, or each other.

"Come on _mijo_, kick her ass!" Maria felt secure enough to allow the rough housing, neither her bloodthirsty Krogen boy nor her favorite psycho path had been able to really take out their pent up aggression the way they would like, and sparing could only hold them over for so long so Shepard would allow them to have their fun. Hopefully they would need them later on in the mission, the two of them together was a freight train from hell and she really didn't need that on her ship all the time, she knew they would have to be on a real mission soon.

Upon hearing his battlemasters words, Grunt let out a roar and wrapped Jack into a bear hug and none to gently, turned with her and slammed her into the metal floor. The noise was loud and Shepard bolted from her seat quickly to check if Jack was ok, Maria let out a breath when she saw the large smile on the woman's face.

"Jesus Grunt, you could have broken her back." Maria told him, Grunt's head bowed slightly, think he had displeased her.

Jack swiftly jumped to her feet, slapping the big tank bred on the chest, "Don't worry about it big guy, it takes a lot more than that to break me." Jack's reassurance, put a small smile on the Commander's face, the progress being made with that woman was phenomenal and she was happy that the deadly and untrusting biotic had opened up to being a part of this family they had all built on the ship.

Shepard moved beside Grunt, standing on a chair and putting her forehead against his, "Hey, you did good, and I'm the one that told you to go for it anyways. Just try not to kill your team mates ok."

Grunt nodded his head against hers, his big grin back, "Yes Battlemaster."

Maria moved her head back, "Good boy." She turned her head to the rest of the room, "Now my band of miscreants, it's time for bed. We have a long fucking day ahead of us and I want everyone ready." Maria jumped down from the chair and stood in the center of the room and she looked to everyone, she received nods and 'Aye Commanders' as everyone headed out. Garrus' mumble about 'if they were miscreants, what did that make their leader' earned him light laughter from the squad before everyone departed to their separate rooms. Soon it was just her and Thane, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back and his face perfectly relaxed as he looked at her.

Maria gave him a small smile and jerked her head toward the elevator, Thane followed behind as she led the way. They said nothing on the ride up, Thane was content with holding her in his arms in front of him as they enjoyed the peace and quiet. The elevator made a silent ding as the doors came open, Maria stepped out of his arms as she walked ahead. Thane walked past her, taking off his cloths as he went. Maria stopped by the tank and hit the button for the feeder, smiling at the blue, green and red fish in the tank. Kolyat had bought them on their last day on the Citadel, telling her it was stupid to have such a big tank and not have fish in it. She had laughed at his blunt opinion of her 'stupid empty tank' and had chosen to name the blue fish after him, which caused him to narrow his eyes playfully. She had even gone as far as to compare the two saying how much they looked alike, calling Kolyat _pez _the rest of the visit. She had named the green fish Thane, just for kicks, which caused Kolyat to laugh at his father, who had given her the same look his son had. Both men had looked at each other, mischievous grins had spread their faces as they named the final fish, the red one, Maria. Shepard had just smiled and said she had the coolest fish.

Maria remembered the farewell that father and son had had. She had left them in Thane's and hers room to let them talk one last time, and when Thane and her had seen him off, both men had actually hugged, very shortly and there had been a bit of awkwardness but it did happen and Maria had been glad to see it. Kolyat had even hugged her, which seemed to come easier somehow for him and had refused to let her go until she promised she would answer his question he had yet to ask, he even had picked her up off the floor so she wouldn't be able to go anywhere. Maria could have easily broke his hold but chose to let him laugh at her, and Thane had enjoyed the display as well, she had finally rolled her eyes and told him yes. Both the commander and Thane had waved goodbye as he walked off, Maria had promised her love that they would visit him soon, definitely before they hit the Omega 4 Relay.

Maria turned her attention away from the fish and to the drell that was now in a tight pair of black shorts that reminded her of human boxer briefs, it was the only thing he wore under the tight leather. His gold necklace shined in the low light and his scales seamed to shimmer, she found the whole scene very pleasing. As she descended the stairs she noticed the effects of his toxins were hardly affecting her anymore, only a tiny haze in the corner of her vision, Mordin had said that they were probably wearing off faster due to her boost in immune system from the implants that Cerberus had brought her back with. The professor had actually hovered over her for a few minutes at dinner, checking her pulps and checking for an outside signs of allergic reaction or negative side effects. She had finally swatted his hands away, telling him she was fine and if Thane had had any negative effects or she was in danger of dying they would have noticed by now.

Maria hadn't noticed she had stopped in front of the bed, only staring at the drell in it with a smile on her face. His voice is what caused her to come back to reality, "Siha. Is something wrong?" His deep vibrating voice sent a pleasant warmth through her body.

"Sorry, just thinking about today." Maria unbuttoned her pants and pulled them past her legs as she spoke, the black thong she wore just to try on the dresses made Thane's lips turn in a small smile, "Nine months ago, before I had all you guys on this ship, if any of us had seen the other on the street we would have been more likely to shoot at them than giving them a kind word." Shepard slid into bed next to him as she dropped her bra she had pulled through her shirt on the ground at the side of the bed. Thane pulled the covers over them as he wrapped his arms around her, listening to her continue, "Now, my most hostile and crazy fighters are smiling and sticking up for one another. When I met Grunt he almost killed me, now he is like a son. Jack had refused to get on the ship, now it's like a home to her. It's just amazing that this team acts just like the crazy, gun wielding, outlaw family I probably will only ever be able to have." Maria had a stunned and happy expression on her face as she looked up at Thane beside her.

He gave a deep low laugh, "You realize we would have torn each other apart long ago if it wasn't for you. You are the center that holds this all together." His eyes became more emotional as he recalled the first time they had met, "If you had told me six months ago I would be calling a human, Commander Shepard no less, my Siha, I would have said you were crazy. But here I am, in our bed, reunited with my son, and under the command of the fiercest, bravest, most beautiful woman in the galaxy, off to fight an unknown enemy." Thane paused, lowering his head to touch his forehead to hers, never breaking eye contact, "You are capable of unimaginable things Commander, and I am honored and blessed to be a part of them. As long as my body still draws breath, I will be beside you, watching over you."

Maria didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything, only taking his head in her hand and closing the distance between their lips. No love making took place that night, each of them just finding peace in holding the other, knowing that they were no longer alone in the galaxy, feeling like they could take on anything, so long as they had the love of the other.

**Please review! ****Let me know even if you want something answered, or want something added.**


	25. Power Source

**I am so sorry for not updating sooner! I had the worst writers block ever and things with school and my home life got in the way. Also, my poor beta came down with a cold so pretty much life is beating the hell out of both of us. But now we are good and I should be updating like I used to. Hope you enjoy the first part to Kasumi's mission.**

"Why exactly am I being forced to have Miranda as my date?" Thane's deep voice called through the bathroom door, she could hear irritation thick in his voice.

"Because, that is the role she needs to play, it makes her seem harmless and unimportant." Maria answered from the bathroom, applying her light make-up to her face.

"And why did it have to be her? Why not you?" Thane yanked his formal jacket on over his black shirt that concealed his throwing knives and a short blade attached to the inside of his forearm.

Maria had been holding back on telling him this and guessed it was a good thing that she was behind a solid locked door. "Kasumi thinks it would be better for me to remain unattached so Hock will be able to…interact with me freely." She answered carefully.

Thane's face drew into a hardened expression as he took three long strides to stopping in front of the door, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Maria cringed at the sound of his voice, his obvious displeasure at hearing this news was evident. "What do you think it means?"

Before Thane could tear down the door to get to her, Garrus walked into the room wearing his own turian formal wear of a black and blue button up shirt and fitting pants. Maria thanked god he had arrived on time to get them.

"Hey, you two ready?" Garrus spoke in a cheerful voice, but pausing in his steps when he saw the look on the assassin's face.

"I still need to put my dress on. Garrus take Thane and I'll meet you down in the cargo bay." Maria instructed the turian.

Thane gave a glare at the door but complied with the Commander's orders and followed Garrus out the doors and down to the cargo bay.

Maria heard the doors hiss close and opened the bathroom doors, poking her head around the corner, she was able to see they had in fact left. Shepard walked out of her bathroom, fully dressed in her black silk dress with the black two inch heels that Miranda had convinced her to wear. Maria secured two gold bracelets to her left wrist, then her dangling chandelier earrings. She ran her fingers through her long brown hair, the shiny smooth locks framed her face perfectly as she draped it over her shoulders, leaving some trailing down the middle of her back. The last bit of jewelry was the thick gold ankle bracelet, cut to look like a long Japanese dragon with ruby eyes and flowing back spikes. Maria clamped the bracelet around her right ankle and stood erect in front of the full length mirror, checking her reflection. Usually she wouldn't give a damn what she looked like but there was a small part of her wanting to look good for Thane. A small smirk graced her lips as she finished her inspection in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance, and exited her rooms to meet the rest of the group down in the cargo bay.

A long whistle followed the Commanders steps as she descended the stairs to her crew, milled around two shiny cars; one black and one red. Maria gave Jacob a sideways glace with the slightest hint of amusement. Maria walked through the group with commanding authority, her hips moved from side-to-side seductively and the silk lightly rippled from her movements. The whole effect was causing Thane to forget how to breathe, his hands flexed at his side, wanting nothing more than to grab her and run right back to their rooms.

The assassin hadn't been allowed to see the dress until now. Maria told him what would it matter waiting one day, now he was thinking she purposely held back wearing it just so he would have this reaction, and not be allowed to do anything about it. His large black eyes were transfixed by the moving silk on her body, the dragon that wound down her shoulder and across her stomach made it look like the creature was moving. Her thick smooth legs appeared longer in the black heels that made a soft clapping noise on the metal, and the gold dragon ankle clasp looked real. To say the whole effect was not erotic would have been an understatement. Thane wasn't sure if he could take watching her sashay around the party, only to be forced to appear as the escort of Miranda and possibly have to watch this Donavan Hock criminal make moves on his Siha. He swore to the Gods if that man or any man, but him touched her, he would put a bullet in their head.

"Wow Shepard, you look amazing!" Tali's accented voice spoke in front of her. Maria looked the young woman over, amazed herself by the beautiful suit that she wore. The environmental suit was not the same purple she normally wore, but a deep blue that matched Garrus' cloths. The thick decorative rings around her neck were shiny silver that matched the lining around her mask, which was the same blue tent that caused her glowing eyes to appear a bright white blue color. The crisscrossing top was similar to the normal one she always wore but the bottom was made to look like a long skirt with a long slit to her waist, showing the tight silver pants with blue straps. What Maria guessed was a quarian dress looked beautiful on her friend and the Commander told the woman so.

Kasumi and Miranda looked just as beautiful in their own dresses. Kasumi still kept a hood over her face but it went well with the long flowing purple dress she wore. She had no jewelry on and the ever present purple strip of lipstick was the only decoration she wore. Miranda's own tight spaghetti strap red dress with the knee high black heeled boots made the usual stunning looking Cerberus operative look ever more like a super model. Her own jewelry was all black, a thick black jeweled bracelet and a black chocker with a dangling black and red stone.

All the men looked equally as handsome in their own formal wear that matched the color of their dates. Maria's eyes took in Thane's all black ensemble with the even more exposing cut out in his chest that came down in a curved point, showing off his muscular freckled chest. The jacket he wore was made of a thick material with simple but exotic drell markings done in red that went well with his ribbing on his neck. The black ear clamps that she bought on the Citadel were on the left side of his head. Maria was always stunned at how gorgeous he was and would never understand what he saw in her normal human features.

Maria stopped at the head of the group, next to Thane at the back of the black car, "Alright, we all know the plan and the rolls to play. Let's go crash a party."

The group nodded and moved to their own groups, Garrus, Tali, Jacob and Kasumi in the red car and Maria, Thane, and Miranda in the black. The engines roared to life, Maria flexed her hands on the steering wheel, the familiar hum and vibration of the expensive machine caused a small smile to cross her lips before she speed off across the shiny metropolis that Hock lived on the out skirts of.

As planned, Garrus held back to allow Maria to arrive at the mansion ten minutes before his group. Shepard's car hovered over the parking area of the many lines of parked guest cars, all extremely expensive and probably cost well over half a million credits. Once the black car touched down the trio stepped out, looking up at the massive villa style home in front of them. The metal structure was built on top of a high rocky hill, perfectly secluded and private.

"He maybe a criminal, but you can't knock the man's taste." Miranda's impressed voice spoke behind Shepard.

Thane who had the woman's arm in the crook of his own rolled his eyes, not impressed at all by the lavish surrounding them, he preferred a simpler way of living.

"If you like that over the top, high and mighty décor. I always found houses like this annoying. I bet there are ten rooms in the house and he is the only one that lives in it." Shepard nodded her head to a barrack like structure to the far right as they moved up the tiled pathway, past a massive water fountain running out to a small pond. "Look, that's where he keeps his guards, they don't even live in the house with him. He keeps them outside, like guard dogs." A humors laugh escaped her lips, "This guys just a scumbag thug who thinks he is something more. I'm going to enjoy this."

Thane noticed a smirk on his Siha's face, the look in her eyes taking on a dark gleeful expression. His own lips quirked in a small grin, he enjoyed watching Maria tear through and completely dismantle a place. His mind couldn't help notice that she seemed to have the same views on style homes that he did. The image of her walking through _their _own home, wearing her favorite black boy short underwear and a tight tank top showing off her perfect figure and beautiful tan skin in the light of the morning sun, her stomach large with his child…

"You two ready?" Thane's day dream was interrupted by the very woman it starred, her questioning gaze looking back at Miranda and him.

"Aye Commander." The Cerberus operative replied. Thane could only nod his head, still not completely recovered from his image of her pregnant. He hadn't known where that came from, never imagining having another child, after not being able to be there for Kolyat like he wanted. Then again, he had never thought he would love another woman after Irikah.

The group walked to the entrance of the house, a guard in black armor and the same sun symbol as Eclipse mercs wore, was scanning the statue of Saren that was supposed to be their gift to Hock. Maria was a bit put off by how life like the statue was, the eyes seemed to be staring through her, cruel and hard. She had been fortunate enough to see what the famous turian was really like, in the last few second of his life, his eyes had been clear of the indoctrination that Sovereign had placed over him. He had actually thanked her and his blue eyes held respect and gratitude, before going dead as he placed a bullet in his own head.

Shepard shook her head sadly, than continued her way up the stairs, just to be stopped by the guard in black. "Name ma'am?"

"Alison Gunn." Shepard told him in the same polite tone he had used.

Thane moved to her side, pushing Miranda to the other side of him like the air head, eye candy date she was meant to be playing, "Riue Kavik, and my guest."

The guard scanned his holo pad, checking off their names and ushering them through with a wave of his arm. Maria walked up the remaining steps with Thane on her right and Miranda on his arm. They walked through a hallway lined with tall columns and expensive paintings, vases, and even ceiling high bookshelves filled with hardcover paper books that were extremely rare to find even on Earth. Hock seemed to have a whole library that he probably didn't even touch. As they walked further in and past the groups of conversing guest of all different kinds of species there was another water fountain with a two story abstract statue in the middle. A large circular fountain that flowed out into the lower balcony, with tall stare chases on either side of it, leading up to a open second landing. Both the second level and the open balcony had even more people socializing. Maria pinpointed many doors leading to different rooms, the one on their left she knew was a small surveillance room, the one on the far right was a stairwell that led to a lower level that was Hocks main bedroom. The others upstairs were guestrooms, bathrooms, studies and other rooms that they hopefully wouldn't have to go running through to search for what they needed.

Standing before the pool of water, in the center of the room, was a man dressed all in white, with keen eyes and air of confidence about him that made Maria positive this was Hock. The man was talking to a Salarian and male human, but turned around once he saw the man across from him look over his shoulder in a mesmerized gaze. The man in white locked eyes with Shepard and a pleased smile spread across his lips, as if looking on a beautiful painting for sale.

Thane watched as the man excused himself from his group and made his way to them, specifically he was making his way to Maria. His hand tightened involuntarily as the human blatantly appraised his Siha with his stares.

"Ouch." Miranda hissed next to him, giving him a pointed look which Thane ignored.

"Hello, and welcome to my home. You are the woman who brought that lovely statue of Saran Arterius." Maria nodded her head, giving a small smile to the man. "Forgive me, where are my manners? Donovan Hock."

"Alison Gunn." Maria held at her hand for him to shake, but instead the man took it and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on her knuckles.

Thane could feel a growl build in his chest, thankfully it could only be heard by other drell, a warning sign of claiming ones mate.

Shepard slipped her hand out of the man's smoothly, directing him to Thane next to her in a single motion, "This is my business partner, Riue Kavik and his girlfriend, Victoria Tave."

_When the hell did Miranda become my girlfriend? She did that on purpose! _Thane wanted to punch the man, but instead shook his proffered hand firmly. Thane got a bit of satisfaction out of the slight wince at the corner of Hocks eyes and the subtle flex of his fingers from how hard Thane had griped his hand.

"Forgive me, drell strength. I forget sometimes how easily I can harm humans." Thane's deep voice sounded threatening but Donavan just gave him a bow and waved him off.

"No problem." From behind, a man gave a whistle, motioning for Hock to come over. "If you will excuse me, I must pay attention to my other guests." His dark eyes turned to Maria. "I look forward to seeing you later in the evening Ms. Gunn."

The barely noticeable tilt of Shepard head was the only response the man got before addressing the whole group, "Hope you all have a good time." Then he was gone.

"Well he seemed to like you." Miranda quipped.

"In that dress, any man would have to be crazy not to." A familiar voice spoke behind them.

"Mr. Actus." Maria turned to the group, giving Garrus a bow of her head in greeting. Both groups walked to the side in the open square room of bookshelves, getting out of the way of new people arriving.

"The layouts showed that Hock's vault is on the lower level, should we send Kasumi down now or wait?" Garrus whispered to Shepard by his side.

"Yeah. Kasumi. Jacob, go down and see what we are dealing with." Maria instructed them, both giving big smiles and bows of the head for the people around them to see. The two slowly walked off, as if viewing the splendorous house and all its amazing décor.

"This house is enormous." Tali commented on Garrus arm in wonder. Such an extravagant and massive living area was beyond her comprehension, quarian living was so simple and bar minimum.

"Yes. It's all just a waste, all this room and money just for one man, when there are millions starving and homeless, and this guy just makes life worse for them with his crimes." Maria spoke softly, taking a sip from the drink that they had all taken glasses from a passing waiters tray.

"Makes you want to puke, doesn't it?" Garrus laughed out disgustedly, receiving nods from the group.

"I hear music outside, wonder if this missions going to require some dancing." Miranda looked through the high windows to the long balcony outside, a few couples spun around the open space to the sound of music coming from tall speakers situated around the area.

"If you think I'm dancing with you, you are sadly mistaken." Thane grumbled into his glass.

Miranda glared at the drell and before she could retort, the sound of Kasumi's voice came over their radio sets. "Jacob and I are in, there is more in here than I expected. Password protected voice lock. Kinetic barrier. DNA scanner - looks like an EX - 700 series. Everything a vault needs to be impenetrable."

"Is this going to be a problem?" Maria questioned.

"Please, remember who you're talking to." Kasumi spoke with confidence, before breaking down what they would have to do. "We will need a voice sample from Hock, so you will have to chat him up. We will need a password as well. DNA. Childs play. We should find plenty if DNA samples in Hocks private quarters. And the barrier, just cut the power. Never fails." Kasumi's voice took on a more thoughtful tone, as if speaking to herself, "Keiji could get through a system like this in his sleep. And I'm better." A supportive hand massaged Kasumi's shoulder affectionately, receiving a thankful sad smile in return that the others couldn't see.

"Alright. First, let's find the power source to the barrier, we can…" Maria was in the middle of instructing her team, before Jacob interrupted.

"Sorry Commander, but the power cable is right outside this room. I can set your omni tools to track the location of the power source." A quite beep sounded on all their omni tools.

"Thanks Jacob, now all of you spread out and find the source without drawing attention to yourselves. Miranda and Tali, go act brainless and amazed by all the shiny things. Garrus, go look for Jacob. Jacob, get up here and meet Garrus out on the balcony and go from there. Kasumi, I want you to cloak and walk around as well, but you are going to have to be the one to disable this thing while staying hidden. Thane, you're with me."

Each group nodded, and went to their assigned tasks. Tali and Miranda giggled and glided to the far right that had an arch way leading into two separate rooms. Garrus sauntered to the left slowly, smiling and stopping to chat for a short time with other guests in order to give Jacob time to meet him on the balcony. That left Thane and Maria with the upstairs, both of them walked arm and arm up the long curved stair case.

"Watch, that power source be in one of these fucking rooms, we might have to go through them all." Maria spoke softly, giving a small smile to a group of men they passed who were all giving her approving looks.

"Not necessarily. We really only need to pass by each door, our omni tools should tell us if the power source is in one of them." Thane whispered to her, keeping a hard expression on his face that still didn't give away to his thoughts or feelings. It only caused him to look dangerous, which is exactly what he wanted the men to know.

Maria stopped in a small alcove, secluded from the rest of the guests at the end of the curved hall. Long thick curtains hid them mostly from view. She leaned against the wall, smiling at her companion, "See you do have your uses, you keep me from wasting time with your brilliant mind."

Thane placed both his hands on either side of her head, bending his long arms at the elbow in order to lean in close, "Is that all my purpose serves, Siha?" His dark eyes bore into her own, his head tilted slowly to the side as if studying her. Maria could feel her pulse quicken and that familiar warmth spread through her body and down between her thighs. Thane's body came closer to hers, not yet touching, but close enough where Maria could feel the heat radiating off him through her thin cloths. The modifications Mordin installed did nothing to shield the overwhelming presence of Thane's amazingly sculpted body being so near her own.

Shepard breathed slowly, trying not to give way how much he could affect her, "Well not the only thing. I'm pretty sure I will never be able to have sex with anyone but a drell ever again." Her words were taunting and barley above a whisper, her breath was felt against his neck, and caused a delicious tingle to run through him. Her words however, caused a very different reaction in him, though they led to the same outcome.

Thane's flat hands balled into fists and his brows crinkled in anger. His right hand slid through her hair, gripping it tightly and forcing her head back as his lips crashed down on hers possessively. Maria couldn't hold back the moan that was lost in his mouth as they fiercely battled for the upper hand. Her fingernails dug into the nape of his neck as his free hand hitched up her leg, feeling the hidden throwing knives high on her thigh. His hand grabbed her ass in a vise grip, his own nails breaking into her skin leaving marks for sure. Shepard hadn't ever seen this side of Thane, the angry, dominate side, he was definitely going to have to do this more often.

The couple had to break apart due to the demand of oxygen, their breathing erratic as they stared into each other's eyes. Maria gave Thane a smile, her head tilted back against the wall as Thane smirked at her, his hand still full of her ass and the other with her hair. "Well, that was interesting. And better be repeated at a later time."

Thane gave a deep chuckle, all signs of animalistic instinct gone, "You realize I can break you in half if I lose control like that."

"I think you're underestimating how strong I am Mr. Kavik. And if you do, well I can guarantee the trip to Chakwas med bay will be well worth it." Maria slid her arms around his neck and gave him a tender kiss. The hand on her ass moved to her hips as she hooked her leg around his, her dressed hiked up so her smooth tattooed leg was fully exposed. She could feel a slight bulge form in his pants and reluctantly stepped back from her lover. "This will definitely have to wait, wouldn't want the rest of the woman at the party seeing what _mi novio _is carrying between his legs."

Thane let her fix herself as his erection dyed down, "But Miranda can hang on me all night?"

"Yes. Because you two hate each other and I won't have to kill her for touching you." Maria spoke pleasantly, giving him a sweet smile.

"Now come on, we need to switch our trackers on to find that power source. The sooner we get this mission done, the sooner I get you in bed." Both of them switched their omini tools to track the source. Immediately, the scans went off the chart, buzzing wildly.

Shepard and Thane shared a raised brow look, searching around them for the power box or something concealing it. Thane spotted a discoloring of the wall behind Shepard, barely visible, only someone who knew it was there or searching for it would find it. "Siha, right here."

"Kasumi, get to the alcove on the second floor. Go to the left and all the way around to the corner." Maria ordered into her com.

"Right Shep." Came the thief's answer.

Thane looked to his smiling Commander, "Smart, great in bed and quick eyes. You just got it all don't you, _mi amor."_

Thane just gave her a sly grin before taking her in his arms and placing another kiss on her full lips.

_**Please review **_**it really does help me write faster and I need a confidence boost with this story.**


	26. Eyes in the Shadows

**I am so sorry that I haven't posted anything recently, hopefully if you read my other story, Hello Fascination, you got the message of why I haven't been writing. I have been very busy with school and it is also getting near the end so things just get pilled on. Also, I have been having writers block but I'm hoping that it's over now (you can thank Matyrfea for that, a short story that she sent me kind of inspired me to write again, I thank you for that =).) Also, thank my wonderful beta who has continued to stick with me, I love her =). **

**I hope you guys like this short chapter, I am sorry it is short but I wanted to get something out as fast as possible the next chapter will be coming up soon I promise I'm working on it right now. Thank you for staying with my story and all the wonderful reviews I still get, it really shocks me that people have still continued to send them.**

"As cute as this is, it's starting to make me sick. So could you two please stop making out so I can get to that power source?" Kasumi's voice broke the couple apart, both of them moved aside so the woman could shut down the barrier.

"What's the next step?" Maria asked the thief.

"It's your call Shep. We need the password, voice sample and DNA sample. Which one do you want to go after?" Kasumi finished up her work on the power box, the multi colored wires gave out a small spark before the light on the box died out.

Kasumi gave a small smile at her work, before turning her gaze back towards her leader to find her staring down at the party below, a calculated look in her bright green eyes. Thane watched her as well, his hands behind his back, patiently waiting for his Siha's answer.

"I have an idea."

* * *

"Alright Shepard we got the password. Stupid security guards couldn't shoot to save their life. You would think this guy would keep better security." Jacob reported into his com, which Shepard received outside on the balcony, along with Thane and Miranda.

"Good work Garrus. I have the voice sample. I got him to give a big speech and everything. Jacob and you missed it, brought tears to my eyes and everything." The sarcasm in the woman's voice brought a chuckle to the turian's lips. "All we need is the DNA sample, I can handle that on my own. All of you get down to the vault entrance, I'll be their shortly." Shepard instructed, receiving conformation from the rest of the team and Thane and Miranda beside her. Miranda walked off, followed by Thane, who gave Maria a meaningful look, his eyes begging her to keep safe. Shepard gave her love a slight nod along with a small smile, which had no affect on his somber face but he did walk off to join the rest of the group.

Maria's eyes turned back to the floor of dancing people, her calm gaze searched out the one person she was looking for.

"Ah, Ms. Gun, it seems your companions have abandoned you." A male voice commented from behind her.

Maria slowly turned towards the man, a soft smile on her lips and her whole demeanor radiated poise and confidence. Hock had never quite seen a woman like her, there was something in her presence, her stance, her aura, her…eyes. She had the most brilliant bright green eyes that sat perfectly in her heart shaped face, framed by long flowing brown hair. His eyes took in her soft looking skin, perfect light mocha skin. The short kimono style dress with its silk material shifting across her lithe frame was hypnotic; the tattoos were especially enticing. She was definitely a beautiful woman, but he could have beautiful women whenever he wanted, but it was rare to find someone as … _unique_, as her. Yes unique was the only word he could find that adequately described her, just like one of his artifacts. He would enjoy adding her to his collection.

"It seems they have," Maria's smooth replied.

"A woman as beautiful as yourself should never be without company, allow me the honor of _entertaining _you, until your companions return." Hawke gave a slight bow of his head as he took a step closer to her.

Maria gave him a smile as she pushed off the wall she had been leaning against, putting the same distance between them that was there before he had stepped closer. The movement demonstrated she was a woman with power, not some whore needing the influence of someone more powerful to elevate her. She was the one in control. The whole thing caused the curiosity and desire Hock had for her to grow; and the respect as well.

Maria's eyes continued to watch the circling couples dance, her back facing Hock as she spoke, "How about a dance, Mr. Hock."

Her words were more of a demand than a question. The woman's bright exotic eyes glanced over her shoulder to him, her mouth set in a challenging smile.

"As you wish, Ms. Gunn," Hock murmured.

Hock led the mysterious woman to the dance floor; or rather he was being allowed to lead her. As the two took up their positions and began to sway slowly to the music, neither of them noticed a pair of black green eyes watching from the shadows.

* * *

"Come, there is something I would like to show you." Hock stopped their movements on the floor. He had enjoyed their dances and the conversation they had made, but now he was taking control. Hock was not a man to wait for the things he wanted, he took them, and tonight, he wanted her.

The hand that was positioned on the small of her back tightened only a fraction, Maria knew that her little game was over, now he wanted his prize. She had pushed all the right buttons with him and it had been relatively easy. Shepard had shown all the attributes that a man like Hock would respect, knowledge, power, charisma, common interests and a bit of sex appeal; this man had not been hard to figure out at all. Now if she pushed and tried to control things too much, she would lose him, but Shepard was too smart for that; this song and dance was all too familiar.

"As you wish, Mr. Hock," she said, using his own words to relinquish power to him, now it was her turn to play his game.

Hock gave her what some woman might consider a charming smile, Shepard just found it amusing. Men were not complicated at all, if you plucked all the right strings, you could get right where you wanted; then you strike.

As Hawke turned to lead her to his own private chambers, he didn't notice the frown that crossed Maria's face, she didn't like how easily she had slipped back into this role, it was something she thought she left behind her a long time ago. Shepard closed her eyes and reasserted herself, _I'm doing this for the mission, it's not like before._ She reminded herself. Her eyes opened slowly again and she was back in control, following Hawke through the metal doors that would lead to his rooms. No one had seen the moment it took for her to regain control of her emotions. So short that moment had been only a second past but it was all she needed. The only eyes that saw were the ones from the shadows.

* * *

_Snap!_

The sickening sound of the last guard's neck being snapped was satisfying to the man who caused the nameless human to meet his end. Black eyes scanned the area for anymore guards, as skilled hands lay his victim on the ground gently and quietly.

The man's head darted back and forth quickly, assessing the best point of entry to Hock's room. He decided the only way to get in fast enough was through the large glass windows above. He ran swiftly up the slanted walls and with a flare of his biotics, he slammed his open palm into the window and activated his warp power at the right time in order to shatter the glass. As he jumped up on the window seal, he stilled his movements, waiting to hear if anyone had heard the window breaking. After a few seconds of silence, the man moved on in his goal to get to Hock's room.

* * *

"These swords are dated back to the 6th century. They were found in England and are said to once belong to King Arthur's knights, the Knights of the Round Table some call them." Hock explained the story behind the swords, his eyes held a loving look to them as he skimmed a hand down the ancient weapons.

Maria arched an eyebrow at them, not being able to help her own curiosity about them. "King Arthur. Some would say he was only a legend, that there is no real proof that this man ever really lived, along with his noble and brave knights."

Hock turn sidewise in order to face Shepard fully, a smile slid across his face as he stepped close to her, forcing her to step back against the wall, "And what do you think?"

Shepard didn't miss a beat, her answer came fast and in the same low whisper he had asked his question in, "I think that such a man could exist. I also think that people will always over exaggerate the accomplishments of others or simply make up stories. It is a common thing for people to do after all."

Hock chuckled at her answer, "_Common, _yes people do have a repetitive knack for spinning these grand stories that turn out to have no truth to them." Hock placed his hands on either side of Shepard's head, bring his own even closer to hers, his breath fanned her face as he spoke, "I hate common things Gunn, they're so boring and mundane. I am a connoisseur of rare, beautiful, priceless objects, and I would say you match all those descriptions."

Maria prepared herself for what would be coming next as Hock cupped the back of her head and drew his closer, his eyes become half lidded as he moved. Shepard tilted her palm back, making a clean pathway for her spring blade attached to her arm to travel, but she had to wait for the right moment to strike.

Suddenly, Hock's eyes grew large in shock and he took in a sharp breath before crumbling to the floor, a small knife wound in center of his back. Shepard stared down at the man for a few seconds, confusion in her eyes, before they spotted the pair of black shoes in front of her. Her eyes traveled slowly up the tall frame of the owner of the shoes and came to rest on the face of the one person she should have known wouldn't have let her go off on her own.

"Thane."

_**Please review**_**, let me know if you are liking this or if your not. I have to tell you that Kasumi's mission might be shorter than I originally intended just because it's taking me so long to get done and I really want to get going with the actual story, though you do get hints of Shepard's past life in this chapter. Hope I'm not disappointing people, **_**please review **_**and let me know what you are thinking.**


	27. Keep Your Eyes On The Mirror

**Just as a warning, this chapter is pretty much just a sex scene but it does have meaning, but if you don't wish to read it you wont be missing anything very important. Hope you like.**

"Thane."

Maria could only stare at her lover that stood across from her, a short sword clutched in his right hand tightly; Hock's blood glistened off the end of the blade. Thane's brows were drawn together in a fierce look; his lips pressed tightly against each other and his body appearing bigger somehow, more imposing. He only stared at her, a predatory look in his eyes that Maria didn't know if she should be concerned about, or turned on by.

_Oh there is something wrong with me when all I can think about an angry bloody knife carrying Thane is how fast I can get his clothes off. _Maria would have laughed at her thoughts if it wasn't for the situation she found herself in.

Slowly, she brought her hand up, her feet carrying her closer towards Thane as she spoke his name once more, "Thane?"

The only response she received was the clanking of his short sword as he dropped it on the ground at his feet. The sound was so loud in the silent room that a grenade might as well have gone off beside them. The noise had caused Maria to stop in her tracks; her eyes glanced down to the blood stained weapon on the floor and then to the man who dropped it. She had managed to turn her attention to him just in time to catch him dart forward, grabbing her roughly around the waist and spinning with her, only to slam her into the wall beside them.

Shepard barred her teeth against the slight pain he had caused, her eyes shut tight as her head arched back. Thane did not stop there, his mouth descended on her exposed throat, kissing and biting his way down to the hollow of her neck, right above her breasts. His hands were full of her ass as he dug his nails into her flesh, her feet dangled off the ground as he held her against the wall. There was no way of escaping the crazed drell; not like she really wanted to. As much as she was enjoying this however, Maria felt she needed to at least try to get through to Thane.

"Thane, stop. You need to stop. What…what is wrong with you?" Shepard asked breathlessly, her hands on his head were trying to both pull him away and bring him closer.

_Damn it, stop betraying me body!_

Thane finally stopped, lifting his head from her breasts that he had been able to get to by pushing the material of her dress to the side. His eyes were dark and had an out of control look to them that caused Shepard's breath to catch. His voice was husky and the vibration of it sent shockwaves of pleasure through her body, "You're mine."

That was Thane's only answer before he went back to claiming every inch of skin he could get to. Maria couldn't fight the building desire and the unbearable ache she was now feeling between her thighs. She didn't know what had gotten into Thane but she would be damned if she wasn't going to take advantage of his new aggressive behavior.

Shepard forced his head up and slammed her lips against his, both of them kissed each other with an equal amount of passion and hunger. As Thane lifted her more securely onto his hips, her legs snaked around his waist and her mouth moved down to the frills on his neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive scales there. Thane's eyes searched out the spot in the room he was looking for, quickly spotting the full length mirror on the other side of the room, right across from the couches. Thane moved quickly towards it, carrying his Siha the whole way.

Thane stood on the side of the couches that faced the mirror, standing Shepard up and turning her around quickly so she was turned towered the mirror, her passion filled eyes stared back at her. Maria's swollen lips parted in confusion but said nothing as Thane unzipped the dress from behind, allowing the material to fall around her feet with one tug down her shoulders. She now stood only in her black thong and strapless bra, completely helpless and at the mercy of whatever Thane had planned. The drell's eyes took in her figure from behind, his eyes roaming down her strong back to her round ass and shapely legs; her feet that were still clad in the black heels made the appearance even more erotic.

Thane skimmed his hand over her shoulders, causing her to shiver from the amazing feeling his light touch was causing. With one hand, Thane was able to undo the snaps on her bra, which fell to floor to join her dress. Then her underwear slid to the floor, he bent each of her legs, one at a time as she stepped out of the undergarment, now completely naked before him.

"Bend over," Thane growled in her ear, his hot breath feathering over already overheated skin. Maria clenched her jaw, stifling of a gasp of pleasure. The throbbing in between her legs increased as shockwaves of pleasure soared through her. The light touches, feathered breaths, his body so close to her yet not close enough was driving her insane. Shepard obeyed his order, hoping that he would give her the relief she so desperately needed. She hoped that playing along would speed the process.

Thane watched her place her knees on the black cushions and her hands coming to rest on the arm of the couch, her head bowed to the floor. Thane unhooked the buckle on his pants and yanked them down along with his under shorts in one motion, his hard length standing at attention, just waiting to slide home into his Siha. Thane placed one hand on her hip and the other fisted in her hair. At the same time he slammed himself into her he also yanked her head back, forcing her gaze onto the mirror in front of her.

Maria watched as her eyes grew wide at both the pain and pleasure she received from her hair being pulled and Thane finally filling her. As her eyes closed, Thane gave her hair another sharp tug, causing her eyes to open wide once again.

His hips moved agonizingly slow as he leaned forward staring at her through the mirror, "Keep your eyes open, I want you to watch." His voice rumbled through her where they were joined.

Maria's breath quickened, her eyes staying focused on the man behind her. Thane was satisfied that she would listen and released his hold on her hair and placed his hand on the other side of her hip. He continued his slow pace, pulling out until he was almost completely out of her, then slowly slid himself completely in, filling her. This was a sweet torture for Shepard, which made it hard for her to keep her eyes open, when all she wanted to do was to shut them tight and force him to move faster.

"Please….faster…please." She begged.

"Who do you want to go faster?" His calm voice replied, his eyes holding her gaze through the mirror.

"You." She choked out.

"Who am I?" Thane asked.

A light went on in Maria's head and now she knew why he was doing this, why he had been acting this way. He was jealous. He was jealous of the roll she had to play with Hock and he didn't like how close the man had come to her. He wanted her to know he was the only one who could touch her and that he was hers alone. He wanted to claim her.

Usually something like this would piss her off. She wasn't anyone's property! But Thane, Thane was different, she knew he loved her and knew that he would go through the fires of hell to save her. She had never loved anyone the way she loved this man and that is why she was going to give him what he wanted.

"Thane. Thane Krios. The man I love." Maria responded meeting his gaze in the mirror.

Thane stopped his movements all together, his eyes softening as he stared at her. Maria gave him a small smile, which he returned.

Thane leaned forward and kissed her shoulder softly, whispering in her ear, "I love you, my Siha."

His hips snapped forward slamming deep within her, resuming his movements but at a much faster pace. Soon they both were calling each other's names as they were about to reach the peak of their ecstasy together. Thane's breaths were coming out faster as his movements grew frantic, knowing that he would soon be finished.

"Siha…I..." Thane groaned torturously, as he held himself back from his own pleasure.

"Cum for me Thane," she purred throatily.

With that final push Thane came, spilling himself into Shepard, her own release spilling down her legs, convulsing her body around him, extending their pleasure. Thane held her tightly to him, kissing the back of her neck lightly.

"You know, we are really going to have to work on your jealousy." Maria laughed softly as she positioned herself next to him on the couch as they both caught their breaths.

"I have never been one to lose myself to my feelings like this, or to even feel jealousy at all. This is your fault. You bring these unfamiliar feeling out of me." Thane's head turned towards hers, "You will be the death of me."

Maria gave him a large smile as she cupped the side of his face in her hand, "Would you rather me leave you alone?" she asked softly.

Thane's eyes narrowed and his hand came up to clamp around her wrist, "I would rather die than live in a galaxy that was absent of you. Only your words could force me away from your side, not even the gods could tear me away from you Siha."

Maria leaned her head against his and her eyes closed contentedly, "Nothing is going to keep me from you Thane. I will be with you until the end and will love you until my dying breath."

The couple smiled at one another and shared a tender kiss before cleaning themselves up and redressing. Maria walked over to the fallen body of Hock and plucked a few hairs from his head, checking to make sure the roots were on those few strands. Their DNA sample had been retrieved and they were ready to get Kajie's gray box.

_**Please review! **_**Oh and if you do review and your going to tell me you don't like the chapter or the story all around, at least tell me why. If you don't give me a reason why your review means nothing to me. It also has to be a good reason not that you don't like the way I portray Thane or something because then you can just go read another story. You do not have to read this you know, I'm not forcing you. Thank you for all your reviews though I really do love reading them and I'm glad people are liking this story =)**


	28. Escape

"Well you took your sweet time getting here, and where the hell were you?" Miranda crossed her arms over her chest, giving the Commander and Thane her best mom look. Maria rolled her eyes and kept on walking towards Kasumi, handing her the hair she had pulled off of Donovan.

"Nice work, my plan was to just sneak in the room and scan everything in there." Kasumi was impressed with the Commander. "You could have had a career in theft Shep."

"You would be surprised at the shit I used to get up to. Now let's go, I want to get this mission done." Shepard hastily ordered, leaving no room for anyone to question what exactly she had done in her past. Thane's curious gaze watched her from behind, replaying the moment upstairs before Hock and her entered his rooms. Something was bothering her and it had to do with the life she led back on Earth, the mission was obviously bringing up old memories.

Thane didn't have time to dwell on the matter, the sound of the barrier coming down and an artificial voice greeting Hock signaled it was time to enter the vault.

"Grab your guns everyone and let's head in," the Commanders orders were immediately put into action. The sound of heat sinks and the extension of guns clicking into place filled the small area. Shepard surveyed the room, checking that her team was ready before taking the lead through the doors and entering a long hallway with a bright light at the end. "I feel like I'm going to Narnia." Maria mumbled under her breath. Kasumi and Jacob snorted behind her causing the Commander to smirk, the humor helping to loosen the tension from her body.

The group emerged from the long hallway into a bright white room filled with different displays of priceless artifacts; both human and alien. Shepard could only stare at the massive area that held The Statue of Liberties head. _How the hell do you even get that in the room?_

"How did Hock get Lady Liberties head? Damn you Hock!" Kasumi shook her fist at the object, obviously Shepard wasn't the only one stunned by this particular object.

Shepard followed the buzzing of the location device that would tell them where the gray box was. She only had to travel down a few steps to the left and stop in front of a platform right in front of her to locate the gray box. "Kasumi, I found it." Shepard called over her shoulder. She was greeted with the sight of Kasumi on the other side of the room, staring up in awe at the statue of David. "Hey, Kasumi!"

"Yeah, yeah, hold on, I'm coming. I just want to take a look around at all of this. Hock might have been a bastard, but his collection is amazing." Kasumi's voice was distant as she continued to gaze up at the massive statue. Shepard shook her head at the woman but allowed her to take a look around.

"Do you think we can get this through the front door?" Kasumi asked, finally turning from the statue and looking over towards Shepard, her mouth set in a hopeful pout. Maria crossed her arms over her chest as a response. "Oh well, can't blame a girl for trying."

Kasumi and the rest of the crew took some time to take in the artifacts one by one, listening to Kasumi's bits of trivia on each one. Garrus was able to give more detail about the turian ship model and Tali was at a loss of words as her gloved hand ran over the glass display of the quarian stone tablets. Shepard wish she could take them with her, the quarians knew so little about their past, but she couldn't, they needed to wrap this whole thing up before they were caught by the guards. Hock might be dead but that didn't mean his guards would stop at nothing to make sure they died as well.

"Ok, show and tell is over now, time to get back to work." Shepard ordered brusquely as she turned towards the gray box and gun display behind her, picking up both in each hand. "Think we can use these?"

"That's a Kassa Locust. No _the_ Kassa Locust. The gun that killed two presidents, gorgeous. It even comes with a perfect copy too. I'm sure Hock won't mind if we borrow these." Kasumi smiled from under her hood, taking one of the guns Shepard handed her as Thane took the other.

Shepard stood back as Kasumi brought up a scan for the gray box, the devise slowly did its job of unlocking the box. After a few minutes, the holo scan let out a beep that indicated that the locks were down, it was at that moment that a thickly accented and annoying voice spoke behind the group.

"Impressive indeed. You got into my vault as if I left it open and were able to disable my lock on the gray box in a manner of minutes. But what should I have expected, from the great master thief, Kasumi Goto." The large holo projection of Hock that appeared on the far side of the room gave the thief a sinister smile, then became serious as he continued, "I want what's in that gray box Kasumi." The projection of Hock also showed off his body, and Shepard notice his open shirt and the bandages wrapped around his torso.

"Didn't my partner kill you?" Shepard called out to the projection in a bored tone, causing Hock's attention to shift to her.

"You really should check someone's vital signs before assuming they are dead. I always have my omini tool supplied with medi gel, can't be too careful in my line of work, someone always wants you dead." Hock smirked down at her.

Shepard turned her head towards Thane, giving the drell a questioning look. Thane shrugged his shoulders, "I was distracted."

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but I can think of one reason why he would have been "distracted". I can also smell it," Garrus' claws produced air quotes around the word distracted, a knowing smile on his face as he looked between the couple. The rest of the group laughed lightly at the obvious reason why their Commander and her boyfriend had taken so long to get back to them.

Shepard smiled before turning her head back to the holo projection and addressing Hock again, "I know the feeling."

"Yes, I imagine that Commander Maria Shepard would have many people who would want her killed, many people would pay a great deal to have you." Hock paused in his speech, his eyes studying her. "I wasn't lying when I said you are unique Shepard. That's why I'm not going to kill you or hand you over for a reward. I'll just add you to part of my collection. I will enjoy breaking you and have you watching as I kill your friends, they will all die, screaming in…" Hock's rant stopped as he watched in horror as one of his precious valuables was shattered into a million pieces.

Maria's eyes held a gleam of satisfaction as she lowered her pistol away from what used to be an eight foot vase looking statue. "Just shut up and die." Shepard's comment caused her companions to chuckle, all of them un-holstered their weapons together.

"You are going to wish you were never born bitch. Kill them all, but leave Shepard and Goto alive!" Hock's orders were shouted and the projection disappeared, just as the doors on the other side of the vault came open.

"Take cover!" Shepard commanded, diving behind a platform just in time to miss being caught in a flash grenades explosion.

The squad took their targets out quickly and moved forward through the doors. Things went far more slowly then they usually would, the fact that none of them had their armor was making things very difficult but not impossible for the deadly soldiers. After they made it past the first YEMIR mech, Shepard sent a message through her omni tool for Joker to send Jack, Grunt and Zaeed down. The small team would be deployed on the roof and work backwards toward Shepard's larger group and they would meet up somewhere in the middle and follow the path that the others had taken back to the roof.

"How many damn mechs does this guy have?" Garrus yelled over the gun fire of both the enemy and his team mates, watching as another giant mech sprang to life and started to shoot at anything in it's path.

"Fuck! Where is my rocket launcher when I need it?" Shepard was using every curse word imaginable as she tried to put some sort of dent in the mechs reinforced armor. Maria was forced to take cover as the machines massive gun swiveled to her. The wooden crate next to her burst into pieces, several splinters flew in her direction and imbedded themselves in her exposed leg. "Fuck me!" Shepard screamed from the pain and the anger she was feeling at that moment. She wished she could go back to that moment that Thane had stabbed the son-of-a-bitch and make sure she had taken off his head with one of those damn swords he was so fond of. Shepard took in a deep breath and inched her hand down to the four inch shard of wood sticking out of her thigh. Shepard bit down on the strap of her gun and with one swift tug, the splinter was pulled from her leg. The Commander groaned in pain but was already feeling some relief from the absence of the wood piece from her thigh. She quickly applied a slab of medi gel in order to close the wound. The other two pieces came out more easily and the cuts were superficial, nothing she would have to worry about.

Maria stood from her crouched position and peaked around the corner of her metal barrier and watched as a woman on the far side of the room carelessly launched rockets towards her team. Maria switched from her assault rifle to her sniper and with one pull of her trigger, her shot went right through the woman's head, her body fell off her perch and landed with a sickening crunch on the metal platform below. Shepard glanced towards her left at the others, who had drawn the attention of the mech and were doing their best at playing hide and shoot with the thing. Maria new she had to get to that rocket launcher if they had a chance at taking this thing out, last time they had gotten lucky and there had been a box of grenades behind their cover and they had been able to take out the first YEMIR mech with the explosives. This one they would need that rocket launcher in order to kill it.

Shepard slipped the strap of her sniper rifle around her body and prepared herself to sprint for the rocket launcher. Her right hand closed over the cross around her neck as she kissed the charm for luck, praying that she could make the distance without being seen and taken out by the mech. As the pendent fell back against her chest, Maria pushed off the metal barrier and hauled ass towards the fallen guard and her weapon.

Thane could feel his heart stop in his chest as he watched his Siha sprint across the room, trying to reach a useable object. If the mech turned around in the next ten seconds she would be spotted and the machine would have enough time to tear her apart. The assassin felt his biotics rush through his body and hurled everything he had at the mech, using both his powers and gun to keep its attention on his side. Thane knew he was pressing his luck, barley dodging the mechs gun and not taking enough time to hide behind cover but he could not allow the mech to turn around. The sensors on its back had already alerted it to Shepard behind it and it had attempted to turn but Thane's attacks had overridden it's commands and it picked him out as the greater threat.

Shepard pumped her arms as fast as she could, willing her body to move faster. She had caught Thane's eyes as she ran for the gun and knew he was probably buying her time as she made her way across the room. _You better not die you bastard!_ Maria hurdled over the railing and slammed into the opposite wall, her arm acting as the only cushion to the impact. She quickly snatched up the gun and jumped back over the railing and aimed the rocket at the hulking metal of death. "Get down!" Was her only warning, her scream was heard all around the room and her team dove for any cover they could find; Thane had to be tackled by Jacob behind a metal barrier in order to stop the drell from keeping the mechs attention.

As the mech ceased it's fire on her squad, Maria pulled the trigger, sending off the first rocket which connected right in the center of the mechs back causing it to convulse but not go down. One, two, three more shots from the launcher and finally the mech exploded, all before it could turn to fully face its executioner.

Shepard was breathing heavily as she dropped the heavily smoking gun to the floor, her eyes searching out her team mates from behind the many boxes and crates. "Is everyone alive?"

"Yeah, we're good Shep. Thane went a little crazy and got himself shot, but he will live. Garrus was also shot, but he is fine too." Kasumi was walking towards her with a tired smile on her face, which her Commander returned. The two women waited for the rest of their team to join them by the doors, Garrus had a slight limp to his walk and Thane was favoring his right shoulder, which had bright red blood running down his now torn sleeve, but everyone looked fine and ready to get moving.

"Let's get the hell out of this place." Shepard started to walk through the open doors when an explosion was heard around the corner. "Please, for the love of god tell me these _pendejos _just blew themselves up." Shepard hauled her assault rifle up and walked cautiously forward, her bare feet making a soft patter on the metal floor.

"Why don't you have shoes on? Why doesn't she have shoes on?" Miranda's almost hysteric voice sounded behind her.

"Because I can't fucking fight in those whore shoes you gave me. Besides, I feel much better without my shoes, wish I could do this all the time." Maria a smiled fondly down at her bare feet, wiggling her toes happily.

"Oh yeah that's just great. When you get an infection or cut your foot open on something don't coming crying to me." Miranda continued to rant as the group came around the last corner and was greeted with the sight of the whole area littered with dead guards and metal beams hanging broken from the walls and ceiling.

"What the hell happened here?" Jacob's shocked voice asked from beside the Commander, his eyes wide in surprise at the destruction before them.

A large grin slid across the Commander's face as she lowered her weapon, "I know who did this."

"Well hello Commander! Taking a nice stroll are we? I would hurry that ass up, Joker says there is something going on up on the roof." Zaeed's gruff voice shouted down to them from the stairs above. Never before had she been so pleased to see the scared mercenary she almost felt like she could kiss him.

"Let's head out." Maria motioned in front of her and the group worked their way through two more rooms before meeting up with Jack and Grunt outside the door leading to the roof.

"Hey bossy lady, you're alive. Joker radioed in saying there was movement on the roof, but by the time we got back here it was silent." Jack reported, hopping off one of the storage compartments and landing with a loud bang.

"Well, we won't know what Hock is up to unless we go out there. Ground team, keep a tight formation and shoot from cover. Reinforcement team, give them hell." Shepard stared down her squad, making sure everyone understood her orders, before turning and leading them to the roof.

The reinforcement squad took point, there guns held in front of them as the ground team covered from behind. Everyone's eyes shifted back and forth, they're bodies wound tight, anxiously awaiting for some sign of Hock's guards. The roof was a big open area, littered with varies boxes and containers, perfect for either them or the enemy to hide behind.

"I thought Joker said there was movement up here, I don't see anything." Jacob voiced what everyone was thinking, but Maria couldn't shake that bad feeling that something was coming. _Hock's not letting us leave that easily._

A strange sound could be heard around them, like something was warping the air. It started to become louder and suddenly a large gun ship flew up from the far ledge and unleashed a barrage of bullets they're way.

"Get down!" Shepard yelled to her squad, slamming herself into Jack in front of her, pushing the young woman behind a shield of metal boxes.

Shepard positioned her back to the boxes as she gripped her assault rifle tightly in her hands. _Well, hello bad feeling._

Hock's voice came over the loud speaker of the gun ship, the smug tone to it caused Shepard to grind her teeth in irritation, "You could have done this the easy way Shepard, allow me to show you the hard way."

More bullets flew their way and the sound of alarms going off filled the air. Maria could see in the relaxation of a glass sheet in front of her that Hock's guards were filling the area, coming up from the moving platforms below. The gun ship's shooting stopped and was replaced by the guards shooting; Hock couldn't use his guns while his own men were so close to them.

"That gun ship has a shield on it and we don't have any rockets, how the hell are we taking that thing out?" Garrus' shouts were hard to hear over the gun fire of both sides. Shepard had to duck down into cover in order to think clearly.

"Kasumi, do you think you would be able to take down those shields from here?" The Commander yelled to the woman on her far right.

Kasumi ducked down into cover as Shepard sprang up, taking out two more guards with her assault rifle. Kasumi looked at the environment of the battlefield, they were too far away for her to be able to disable the gun ship from here. _How am I going to get closer? _Kasumi peered around the crates and took a quick look at the gunship that Hock was lounging in, watching the fight with a smile on his face. _Creep, _Kasumi thought with narrowed eyes, but the thief was also able to see that the model of the ship was not only going to require to get close to it, but she would have to get on it. _Damn rich people and their expensive weapons! _As Kasumi turned back into her cover her head arched back, looking up into the sky as if that would give her an answer. Kasumi's eyes landed on the unfinished beams above them and they followed them all the way out to where they stopped a few feet from Hocks ship.

"Shepard! Clear the guards for me, I have an idea." Kasumi had a gleeful smile on her face that caused the Commander to arch an eyebrow at her but she did not question the woman, only continued to kill off soldiers even faster.

As the number of guards started to dwindle down, Hock began to shoot at the group again from his gun ship. The squad had to do a lot of maneuvering in order to avoid being hit by the ship but eventually they were able to finish off the last of the guards; which was when Kasumi decided to strike.

The squad provided cover fire as the quick thief ran up a stack of crates and sprang up on one of the long beams leading out towards Hock's gun ship. Shepard watched as Kasumi made a leap for the ship and with a bang against the top she quickly punched in a code that brought down the shields of the ship. Shepard's smile only lasted a second before Hock started to jerk the ship around in hopes of throwing Kasumi off. Jacob screamed Kasumi's name in panic but was helpless to do anything like the rest of them. They watch the thief hold on for dear life before the ship stabilized for a few short seconds; the frantic button pushing Hock inside was trying to figure out what the hell the woman had down to his gun ship. Kasumi took that opportunity to flip herself on to the glass of the ship were she gave Hock a taunting smile and a wave of her hand, before back flipping off the ship to the ground below.

Kasumi landed in a crouch in front of the Commander and turned to her with determined eyes, "The shields are down. Let's tear that thing apart."

All at once, the ten soldiers unleashed all they had on the gunship and in minutes, the ship was in flames and the screams of Hock were heard right before the whole thing exploded. The sight of metal and fire falling to the rocky surface below them was beautiful sight after the hell they had gone through.

"Joker. Bring the Kodiak down and get us the hell out of here." Maria tiredly called down their ride home, her eyes scanned over the faces of her now dirty and bruised team.

"Aye, aye Commander." Joker replied.

Maria had Jack and Grunt search the area for any supplies they could bring back with them before they all piled in the small Kodiak. Space was limited, but it felt good to know that the mission was over. The commander sat in the lap of her love, her hand gently touching his injured shoulder. Thane just gave her a smile and told her was fine, his own hand came to rest on her bloodied leg, tracing the crescent shaped scare made from the wood shard. Shepard's eyes eventually left Thane's and switch over to Kasumi, who was perched on Jacob's lap. The couple, for once were not giving each other loving looks, instead, Kasumi had the gray box in both her hands, her saddened eyes stared down at the devise wordlessly. Jacob only rubbed soothing circles into her back as he watched her, not saying a word.

Maria knew that Keiji had been more than just her partner, it was obvious by the way she spoke about him; Jacob seemed to know this as well. The gray box contained memories of not only what dangerous secret he had uncovered, but his memories of his time with Kasumi. Maria's heart went out for the woman, she knew if she was in Kasumi's shoes, Thane's memories would be the greatest possession she owned and she would never part with them. The Commander was happy she had been able to do this mission for the woman and hoped that the memories would be what she needed; whether she needed to physically let go of them or keep them was her choice.

The Kodiak finally came to a stop in the Cargo Bay and the team was able to file out. Before anyone could get to far Maria called out to everyone, "Anyone who was injured, I want you to head to Chakwas Med Bay. I don't need that woman yelling at me for not ordering you all to go, so this is your order. That means you, Garrus and Thane." Shepard narrowed her eyes at the two snipers, who gave her dark looks. "Tali and Jacob you should go too, just to keep the doc happy."

"And what about you? That blood didn't come from our enemies." Thane inquired, giving her a stern look.

"I slapped some medi gel on it, the wound is completely closed and healed." Maria gave him a sly smile. "Nice try though."

The drell growled in the back of his throat but turned on his heel and made his way to the elevators with the rest of the squad. Maria shook her head as she watched them all walk off, before turning to the one person who had remained behind. Kasumi continued to stare at the small box in her hands, her hood hiding her emotions from the Commander's eyes.

"Kasumi, do you want me to leave you alone while you look at them?" Maria spoke in a soft gentle voice, trying to handle the clearly fragile woman carefully.

"No. I…I would like you to stay with me please." Kasumi finally looked up from the gray box, a hopeful look on her face.

Maria said nothing, just gave the woman a smile and a nod of her head as she took the gray box that Kasumi handed her and set up the holo controls with her omini tool so she could link her neural transplants to it. Shepard watched as a blue projection screen covered Kasumi's eyes and the woman was lost in Keiji's memories. Many emotions played across her face as she listened to her dead lover's last message to her. Maria couldn't see what Kasumi was seeing, but she could hear everything and Keiji's last request to his love was something Maria herself wasn't sure she could ever do if she was in this position. Kasumi cried out in protest when Keiji told her to get rid of his memories, her arms came around an invisible figure.

_He wants her to destroy them? This info must be really dangerous. _Shepard closed the holo keys as the message cut, staring at Kasumi for any response. When she got none, Shepard spoke, "Is there any way to just destroy only the information?"

"No. Keiji was a master at encrypting files. He laced the information into his memories. You can't destroy one without destroying the other." Kasumi's round faced looked at her brokenly, her eyes told Maria that she wanted to keep these memories badly. "Do you honestly think keeping these memories will help you? Watching them and clinging to a man who is no longer here." Maria stepped closer to her friend and placed her hands on the woman's shoulders gently. "Jacob and you seem to be getting on well, would Keiji's memories stop you from moving on?" Shepard was speaking very softly and only asking questions that Kasumi should think about, not necessarily answer right now. "Keep them Kasumi, but think about what I said and talk to Jacob if you really feel like your relationship is going somewhere. Love Keiji and never forget him, but don't keep yourself from moving on and experiencing love again; it's the last thing he would have wanted."

Kasumi nodded her head and gave the Commander a small smile, "Thank you Shepard."

Shepard had one more thing to say before she could return the smile, "Kasumi, if you decide in the end to keep these for good, you need to be prepared to live with the consequences. Keiji's info is in there and I don't want you ending up dead because of it."

"Yeah, yeah Shepard. If I do keep them, I will stay off the grid, no one will know I exist." Kasumi agreed.

Shepard finally let her trade mark smile slip in to place, "Good. Now let's go, I need a shower and to get out of this dress."

"You know you really did look nice today." Kasumi's voice was back to its normal happy tone and the two woman walked to the elevators together.

"Thanks, you did too. Though, being able to see your face once in a while would be nice." Shepard joked as she pressed the button that would take them to the crew deck.

"And you not smelling of sex would be nice too." That comment actually got the Commander to look bashful, which Kasumi only gave her a smirk in return. "Honestly, you couldn't even make it through the mission?"

"Turns out Thane is a complete sex addict." Shepard gave the woman a large smile, "And so am I." Both woman burst into laughter as the elevators closed and began its slow travel towards the crew deck.

**And this ends Kasumi's mission. I honestly planed to do more with the mission, especially the ending but it was just taking too damn long and I really want to get on with the story. For those of you that were disappointed I'm sorry and for those of you who enjoyed it I'm glad =). **_**Please Review and I'll try to get the next chapter out quickly, the reviews help me type faster *hint* *hint*. **_


	29. One Step Closer

"You lied." the upset voice of Thane spoke behind his Siha.

Shepard winced but was unable to turn her head to look at the drell behind her due to Chakwas fixing the two long gashes running from her temple, down past her chin to the middle of her neck. The doctor chuckled at the look on the Commander's face, receiving a cold narrowed eyed stare from the woman.

"Who told you I was in here?" Maria tiredly asked, her eyes closing in exhaustion and anticipation for the fight that was coming.

Thane ignored her question, "Why did you lie and tell me the mission was safe. 'A quick and easy mission, nothing to worry about,' that is what you told me". Thane trying to mimic Maria's voice with his deep gravely one was almost comical, but Shepard knew laughing would be the wrong thing to do when he was clearly angry with her.

"If it helps, I didn't know that it was going to turn out the way it did." Maria turned to look at him, giving Thane an innocent expression the best she could. She wasn't exactly lying either. Everything ran smoothly but when Samara walked in the biotics started to fly. Maria had been forced to step in which resulted in her taking a shockwave to the face that flung her against the opposite wall of glass windows, ripping her face open.

"You went after an Ardat-Yakshi! A very powerful one and you didn't know that it would be dangerous?'" Thane's voice wasn't rising, but it was becoming more of a growl as he spoke, which was the equivalent to him yelling only much more intimidating.

Maria clenched her jaw, causing the pain in it to spike, but she was more concerned with keeping her temper in check and preventing herself from saying something she would regret later. "Thane, I can't always be positive if missions are going to be safe and I can't promise you that I won't come back with a few scratches. I'm also the Commander of this ship and that means I'm responsible for everyone aboard. That includes their personal problems and helping in any way I can."

Thane's cold expression did not change for a few seconds, the want to be stubborn was great. However, the assassin began to relax and felt foolish for his outburst, especially in front of the doctor. "Forgive me Siha." Thane spoke formally, bowing to the Commander before leaving without another word.

"Shit." Maria hissed under her breath as she stared at the closed doors.

"I don't think he knows how to handle a woman that doesn't need his protection and whose job requires her to be in constant danger." Chakwas commented while finishing up the last part of cleaning and sealing her wounds. As the doctor walked over to the basin in the corner to wash her hands she added, "I'm pretty sure being under the command of the one he loves is also something he has trouble with."

Maria leaned on her hands as she sat hunched over on the edge of the table. "The mission and my crews' safety comes first, his pride comes second. And I doubt it's a pride thing anyways, Thane isn't the type, but you do have a point about his concern and need to protect." Shepard slid off the table and grabbed her black and red leather jacket from the chair, slipping her arms through as she walked towards the doors. "Thank you doctor, I will see you at dinner."

"Goodbye Shepard." Chakwas called over her shoulder.

Maria walked the short journey it took to get to Life Support. She knew Thane would be in there, he would want time alone after his outburst and would seek solitude in his old quarters and not their own. Shepard's eyes landed on the meditating form of her lover as she came through the doors. With a twist of her hand, Maria silently locked the door and stood behind Thane's prone form, patiently waiting for him to say something.

"Can I help you Siha?" Thane's deep, quiet voice finally asked.

"Well at least you're not calling me Shepard or Commander." Maria walked slowly into Thane's view to find his eyes closed lightly. "Aren't you even going to look at me?"

Thane opened his eyes obediently, but was still not looking at Maria. His large black orbs were trained on the window looking out on the drive core. His handsome face was as stoic as ever.

"Thane, talk to me. This can't just be because of the mission?" Maria chose to sit on the cot behind him, her hand gently lay on his shoulder as she spoke softly behind him.

Thane's eyes closed again at her touch. "Siha, I…" Thane paused and turned in his seat, facing the Commander with a much softer expression on his face. "When you returned to the ship, Samara passed me in the CIC. She said that you could be found in the Medical Bay and there had been an accident. When I heard this, I rushed down immediately." Thane's bowed head snapped up suddenly as his body went ridged and sightless eyes looked to the wall behind her as his lips spoke what he was reliving in his mind. "_I open my omini tool to check for messages. Riue's message awaits me. It's sort, 'Come home now, there has been an accident.'"_ Thane's eyes refocused onto Maria, who waited patiently for him to finish his memory. "I caught the first express shuttle to Kahje from the Citadel. My brother awaited me at the shuttle bay. That is the day I learned of my wife's murder." Thane stared down at his lap, his face troubled with the sadness and memories of losing his wife.

Maria realized how hard it must be for him to watch the woman he loved be constantly shot at, usually taking bullets, and not being able to do anything about it. It must have been even worse to learn that something went wrong on the mission he wasn't part of and to hear the same words that were spoken so long ago while learning about the death of his wife.

"Thane." Shepard whispered, tilting his head up to look at her, "I'm sorry she was taken from you. I am so very sorry. But...I'm not Irikah."

Thane looked into the Commander's bright green eyes that showed so much compassion and empathy for him. "I know Siha. Forgive me for my actions but I cannot bear the thought of losing you. Having my Irikah taken from me sent me back into my battle sleep, losing you, would kill me."

Shepard moved so she could climb onto Thane's lap, both her hands on either side of his head, "_Mi amor_, I can't promise you I won't get killed out here and I can't promise I'll ever stop being in danger. But I can promise I will never stop loving you and I will fight every day to come back to you." Maria gave him a large grin, "And you better do the same my _assassin_."

Thane's lips broke into a smile of his own, something he could never stop doing now a days. The emphasis on his own job title reminded him that he himself led a dangerous life that he could not promise he would not die from before the Kepral Syndrome claimed him. "I give my word, my Siha."

Thane shared a kiss with his Commander. Never before had he felt so open and free with his life, but being with the strong human woman caused him nothing but joy and a weightlessness that he had never known before. The few times, like this incident, the fear and paranoia of possibly losing her or the danger she was in caused his calm to falter, but she truly had a way with her words that could settle an enraged Krogen on the battlefield, and she certainly knew how to settle him.

"Where is our next heading Siha?" Thane asked while lifting himself and Maria out of the hard metal chair he had been sitting on and onto the softer cot.

"We're on our way to the Migrant Fleet. I'm afraid Tali got some horrible news the other day. She is being accused of treason, and I guess the punishment for treason is exile." Maria's face showed the worry and sadness she felt for her friend's predicament.

Thane leaned his head against his Siha's, running his textured figures down the now lightly scared side of her face as he spoke softly to her, "I know you won't let that happen Siha. Tali would never betray her people and you will find a way to prove this to them."

Maria smiled as she ran her fingers over the smooth scales of his hand, bringing them down from her face, "I'm not sure how a quarian trial works but I'll do my best to give any testimony I can. It would crush Tali to be cast out of her people's society, epically since they are all so close. They need to be."

Thane nodded his head slowly, giving a silent prayer that Tali would be found innocent in whatever foolish accusations her people were making about her. "Where do we go after?"

"After helping Tali, we are going to Zorya. Zaeed has a mission I need to take care of, once that is finished, I guess it's off to get that IFF the Illusive Man told us about." Maria explained.

"Then on through the Omega 4 Relay." Thane spoke quietly. Maria just nodded wordlessly, still tracing the patters on his hand. Thane wrapped his arms more securely around her, lowering his back down to the cot as he took her with him. The two of them lay entwined together on the cot, both thinking of the troubles fast approaching, but both took comfort in the physical presence of the other and the knowledge that they had more than friends on their side, but they also had the love and support of one another. No matter what happened, they were going in together, fighting through together and coming out alive together or dying together. Either way, moving on without the other was not an option.

* * *

"You are not going to believe what Maria did to Zaeed!" Garrus lowered himself down in his seat at the dinner table, smiling at everyone around him and eager to tell the story of what happened on Zorya.

"Garrus." Shepard's voice held warning in it as she eyed her friend from her position at the head of the table.

"Don't worry about it Little Indian. Let the boy tell the story. I look forward to seeing what he has to say about taking a concussive shot to the nuts." Zaeed gave Garrus a taunting smirk across the table.

Garrus gave the mercenary a dirty look, but it didn't stop him from continuing his story. Maria shook her head in amusement at the excited looks the crew gave him as they listened, they all loved to hear about the ground missions and Garrus loved telling them. As everyone listened and ate, the doors of the elevator came open and out stepped Kelly and Kasumi, both caring large boxes.

"What are you two up to?" Maria asked suspiciously as the two young woman set their loads down before walking over towards Gardner who served them their food.

Kelly gave her a large, innocent smile, "Nothing big Commander. Just thought it would be nice to set up some decorations, you know, for Halloween."

"Is that the one holiday where you all dress up like weird, ridicules human fiction creatures?" Garrus asked.

"Typically monsters, but you can dress up as anything really." Kelly explained excitedly.

"That's for god damn children. You're not seriously going to dress up are you?" Zaeed asked disbelievingly.

"Yes I am. So is Kasumi. I'm sure a lot of the crew will dress up." Kelly responded defensively.

Zaeed grumbled something about not being caught dead in a custom. Maria smiled at her crew amusingly, who were now so interested in the human holiday and the contents of the boxes.

"We should have a party! As a one last celebration before going through the Omega 4 Relay." Donnelly announced happily, standing in order to get the rooms attention. As excited as the engineer was, Gabby was there to remind him that he was speaking in front of his commanding officer and about holding a party on her ship.

"I'm sorry Commander, I got a little carried away there." Donnelly rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Do you think we could have a party?"

All the eyes in the mess hall were on her as she looked back and forth between the crew. Everyone was silent and waiting in anticipation for her answer like children, even the alien crew members were waiting. Shepard's lips curved in a small smile as she nodded her head in permission. The whole room erupted into cheers and talks about the small party.

"I'll leave you all to it then. Just don't brake anything, and any and all messes will be cleaned by everyone participating, not just Gardner." Maria stood from her seat as she laid down the rules for their party.

"Wait Commander. You don't want to plan with us? Are you even going to dress up?" Kelly had a slight pout to her lips as she questioned the Commander.

"You guys have fun and plan, you only have two days and we will be going after the IFF in four so I would get to it. And yes I'll be wearing something." Maria winked at her yeomen, who was happily satisfied with her answer and turned back to the rest of the crew to plan for the celebration.

Maria made her way to the elevators and waited patiently for the drell she knew would be following her. Thane's green scaled form rounded the corner the second she leaned her back against the wall of the elevator, letting himself in and pushing the button for their rooms.

"What will you be wearing to this party Siha?" Thane questioned in his calm deep voice as he stood in the middle of the elevator, with his hands clasped behind his back and a pleasant smile on his face.

"You will see." Maria gave him a small smile of her own that held a secrete behind it.

Thane's brows furrowed but he said nothing about her mysterious attitude. The green drell stepped into the small hall outside their rooms and turned to wait for his Siha to exit the elevator.

"Hey, I just remembered that I need to speak to Tali about something. I'll be back in a minute." Maria leaned out and kissed her love lightly on the lips before pressing the button for the Cargo Bay before he could ask any questions.

For the second time Thane's brow ridges knitted together in confusion but he quickly shrugged it off and entered the room. Thane discarded his leather jacket and vest on one of the couches as he walked over to the desk by the bed and flipped open his personal terminal to check his mail. A letter from Kolyat and his brother awaited him. Thane read through his son's message, a smile pulled at his lips at the news of Kolyat's first arrest, nothing big, but a couple of red sand dealers down in the lower districts. Apparently C-sec were trying to work their way to the real bosses and small time dealers were all they were finding right now. Thane was still very proud of his son and would take the time to write a reply later. He moved on to Riue's message.

Thane had not been in contact with his brother in over four years but Maria had been urging him to speak with his family for some time. About two weeks ago, Thane finally sent out a message to his younger brother, not sure what reaction he would get from his sibling. Thane was greeted the next morning with a pleasant reply of how happy his brother was to hear from him and how he would hunt him down and kick his ass if he ever stopped correspondence with him again. Thane had let out a loud laugh at reading this, which had startled Maria, who had been going over some data pads on the couch. Speaking with his brother once more was just another thing he owed gratitude towards his Siha for.

As the assassin read, his already happy mood grew with the knowledge that the package that he asked for was being sent to the Citadel. Thane wrote a reply of thanks to his brother and a short update of how he was doing and questions of his brother's own life.

Thane was able to write a lengthy message back to his son and sent it off. After logging off the terminal the drell took a shower and changed into his night cloths. Maria still hadn't returned after almost forty minutes, but Thane didn't think much on the matter, Tali and her might have become absorbed in a discussion or fixing some part of the ship. Thane placed himself in the center of the bed, sitting ramrod straight, crossing his legs as he placed his palms flat on his thighs and drifted into meditation.

* * *

Maria closed and locked the door of one of the Cargo Bay's rooms before making her way up the stairs and to the elevator. The Commander stopped on the empty Crew Deck, walking silently to the women's bathroom. Maria looked at herself in the hanging mirror above the sinks, smirking at the paint smudges across her forehead and cheeks. Shepard washed her face and arms, the bright red, yellow and greens of the paint washed away in the sink and stained the wash cloth until her skin was free of the marks. Maria checked herself one more time before leaving the bathrooms and traveling to her room where Thane waited.

Shepard found her drell lover lying on top of the blankets, his legs and arms spread out, taking up the whole bed. Maria smiled lovingly at the sight as she began to undress down to her underwear. She threw her cloths down the laundry chute and crawled next to Thane silently, bring her leg and arm around him as she rested her head on his naked chest.

"You are back," Thane rumbled tiredly.

"I'm sorry, I got caught up in my own project." Maria lifted her head off his chest to look at his eyes, to find they were closed.

Thane opened them and chose to say nothing, only laced his hands through her soft brown hair and captured her lips in a lingering kiss. Maria shifted her body so she was straddling his hips, her upper body firmly pressed against his chest as she ran her tongue along his own. Thane moved his free hand down to her waist band, fingering the cloth of her underwear as his hand drifted to cup her ass, bring his now fully developed erection against her center. Maria moaned into his mouth as he rocked his hips up against her again. Thane turned with Maria until he had her on her back, his dark eyes stared into her bright ones, meeting the same lust filled look he had in his own.

Maria had been busy in the last two weeks with preparations for the travel through the Omega 4 Relay and helping Zaeed and Tali with their missions, along with spending a great amount of time in the lab with Mordin doing some sort of project. This left little alone time for Thane and her and now that the assassin had her in his arms, he was determined to get as close as possible to his Siha.

Shepard had managed to pull his pants down, but Thane wasn't waiting to pull down her own clothing. The drell's fused fingers parted her underwear to the side as he placed the head of his dellhood against her entrance causing her to invitingly arch her hips towards him in need.

"Thane. Please." Maria breathed.

That's all Thane needed as he pushed himself into the warm depth of her body. His own body tensed from the pleasure he received as she enveloped him. Maria wrapped her legs tightly around her lover's waist, holding him close as he loved her body, her moans of ecstasy were all Thane heard as he pumped in and out of her, rocking her whole body and the bed with the motion.

Maria came quickly, his thumb rubbing circles into her clit was too much for her to handle and it pushed her over the edge. The tightening of her wet, hot channel around his throbbing cock brought his own release. He didn't want it to end so soon, but the intense pleasure that shot through him caused the assassin to spill himself inside her.

The couple remained in each others embrace as they caught their breaths, happy smiles spread across their faces.

"Well, I think I'll make sure I'm busy all the time if that's what I get as a reward." Maria spoke in his ear softly.

"I can always subdue Mordin and take you on the lab table." Thane replied with amusement in his voice and a bit of heat at the image that came to mind.

The rest of the night was filled with their laughter and Thane telling her about Kolyat's first arrest. The fears and worry about where they were and what they were headed to melted away as they spent their night like any other normal couple would, happily sharing separate news and enjoying the others company care free.

**I am so sorry that you haven't gotten any updates from me. Honestly, I'm having hard time writing because it's all coming out very slowly and there is just so much I have planed for this story. I really hope you liked this chapter, it is setting up for the next one, which will be the Halloween chapter. Again, I hope you like, **_**PLEASE REVIEW **_**and thank you for staying with me and my story, I still get reviews and favorites so that makes me feel better. I promise to try to get something out soon. **


	30. Día de los muertos

**I am so sorry it has taken me this long to update and it still shocks me to see people reviewing or adding this to favorites still. Thank you so much for sticking with the story or giving it a chance for those of you who are new readers. Forgive me for the spelling mistakes in previous chapters, I am much more diligent in reading over my chapters before I post now so hopefully those don't happen as much anymore.**

**Again thank you for being patient and I hope you like this chapter, I have been setting up for this for a while and hopefully I finally get the next chapter out soon because it is the main part to all of this. **

**Thank you to my amazing readers and my very skilled beta, love you all!**

_**Please Review!**_

Thane walked through the crowded cargo bay, moving quickly and quietly out of the busy area. His dark eyes took in the many decorations being put up by the crew, fake skulls, skeletons and a strange creature with wings were the most abundant. Streamers and holo coverings strewn around the room were the color of orange and black, apparently this was the color scheme of the holiday. In only two days Kelly and the rest of the crew had made quick work of preparing the large cargo bay for the party, it looked like a night club in the ship.

"Well they are going to have a fun time cleaning this all up." Thane turned to the familiar voice of Maria behind him. Her arms were crossed as she leaned against the railing of the stairs, an amused look on her face as she looked out on the work that had been done.

"They all seem like they feel it is worth it Siha. Is this a very important holiday for your people?" Thane asked curiously, walking up the stairs to stand by her side.

"Ummm, I don't really know how to answer that actually. Humans have so many different cultures on Earth, that universally I would say no, this isn't an important holiday at all. But for my culture, the celebration is important, but different than what you're going to be seeing tonight," Maria explained the best she could.

Thane opened his mouth to ask what the difference was, but he was interrupted by Garrus' booming voice from the landing above them. "Hey, you two! Get up here, you have to see this." The amusement was clear in the turian's voice and the couple smiled to one another as they rushed up the stairs.

As they made it to the top and out in the hallway, Garrus ushered them through the doors leading to the drive core room. Maria looked to Thane curiously as they followed, neither one expected the sight that greeted them as they rounded the corner.

"Hey Commander. So what you think?" Donnelly's thick Irish accent spoke from under a pile of makeup that looked like it had been bought from a professional movie makeup artist.

Maria's hand flew up to her mouth as her eyes grew wide in shock, "Oh my god Ken. How did you do that?" she asked in astonishment.

Thane's own eyes grew wide as his eye ridges rose in surprise at the engineer, or what sounded like him.

"I'm Garrus! Kasumi did the mold and applied it and Jack did the detailing." Ken's voice spoke from an exact replica of Garrus' head.

Maria stepped closer and skimmed her hand over the material, amazed at how real it all looked. The mandibles didn't move as he spoke or breathed, but the likeness of the mask was almost eerie, he even had blue contacts in for the eyes. Kasumi and Jack stood behind the engineer, explained that the whole thing took about seven hours to do, but they were proud of the final outcome.

"Jack, how did you do all this detail? It's crazy?" Shepard asked, stepping back and turning her attention to the biotic.

"The tattoos on my hands, wrists, feet and right thigh were done by me. I have a steady hand and an eye for that kind of shit," Jack answered, shrugging.

"You have talent. Too bad it was wasted on recreating Garrus," Maria quipped, giving the turian a teasing grin.

"Well I think he looks gorgeous, you should walk around like that all the time." Garrus slapped Ken on the back, a big turian grin plastered on his face; he was loving the whole thing.

Maria shook her head in amusement, "Hope it comes off, it would suck to be stuck looking like Garrus forever." Maria stepped back from the swing that Garrus took at her and danced her way out of his reach and out the room, laughing the whole way.

"Watch it Commander, coming through." Gardner called behind a tower of boxes with stasis pods glowing around them.

Maria pressed her body against the wall to make way for him and the food he was carrying, the doors right next to her swished open to reveal Thane, whose head turned towards hers as he made a sudden stop to allow Gardner to pass. Maria gave him a large smile as she headed for the elevator, the drell fallowing right behind her.

* * *

Music pulsed all around in the dimly lit Cargo Bay and the crew walked around, talking, laughing, dancing and eating in their various costumes that were customary for this holiday. Thane sat back in his chair as he watched amused, trying to sort out all the painted or masked faces. Kelly was particularly amusing, with large pink halo wings protruding from her back and a short frilly dress in the same color. The glitter around her face and the pink and white swirls around her eyes and checks reminded him of his brother's daughter.

The small girl was a silver scaled drell with a pinkish tint and her face markings were lines running from her temple, through her large white eyes and down her cheeks to her chin. The lines were the color of pink and gray outlined by thin lines of black with the same forehead marking as her father. She was a strange mix of her father's and mother's coloring, his brother being gray scaled with the same black markings all Krios men seemed to inherit, but the woman who had given birth to his daughter was a pink and white scaled women. The strange blend had produced the most beautiful baby girl Thane had ever seen, her shocking white eyes were not a surprise to anyone in the delivery room for all baby drell came out with white eyes, the color slowly changed over time. However, little Elyria's never did, leaving the large orbs the same pearly white as when she was a new born, where those eyes came from no one knew, possibly on the mother's side of the family, Riue never got the chance to ask because four months after Elyria was born, the woman left.

Hands sliding over Thane's own eyes tore him from his thoughts, and the soft whisper at the side of his head sent a tingle down his spine. "Guess who?"

Thane's lips turned in a smile as he griped the slim wrists of the owner of the hands on his face, his deep vibrating voice spoke as he turned his head, "Siha." As Thane turned in his seat, his eyes grew slightly wider as they ran over the form of what he was positive was Maria, but shocked him so much that he had to do a double take at her face to be sure.

The Commander had chosen to get dressed away from Thane, telling him to go down to the Cargo Bay and she would meet him there. The assassin hadn't had a clue what she would be dressing as for the party; right now he could say he was pleasantly pleased with the outfit, even though he had no clue what she was supposed to be.

Thane stood from his chair, his eyes on the costume as he stood in front of her, a smile on his face. Maria let him stare, amused by his shock and goofy smile. "So what do you think?"

"I think you look very beautiful in that dress Siha, but what are you supposed to be?" Thane questioned.

Maria smiled up at him, "I'm an Indian. This dress belonged to my father's great, great, great grandmother and her mother before her; type thing. I'm a bit more hippy then they were apparently and taller believe it or not." The traditional tribal buck skin dress came to just above her knee when it was supposed to come to her mid shin. The dress was simple and the beads were a sequence of red, white and yellow around her neckline and hips. Long strings of cloth hung from her long sleeves and the bottom skirt. The dress showed off the tops of her shoulders and her feet were bare as always and around her ankle was a thick beaded anklet that matched the color of the ones on her dress. However, the most shocking part of her costume was her face. Maria had taken the time to carefully, and skillfully, paint her entire face as a skull with swirl markings in blood red and large black circles around her bright eyes, with half circles of green and red running along the edge of the black. The colors stood out brightly against the white of the makeup. Her lips were made to look like they were stitched shut, the black lines ran out to the ends of her cheeks on both sides. Her nose was painted black and in the middle of her forehead was a diamond shape colored red and outlined in yellow. Two large feathers, one yellow and the other red, also ran down the left side of her head, braded into her long straight hair that framed her painted face.

Thane stepped closer to her, inspecting the face paint closely, his hand hovering close to her cheek, wanting to touch her, but not sure if he would ruin the makeup she clearly took a lot of time doing. Maria smiled and grabbed his hand and placed it over her cheek, his large, warm hand took over half her face.

"It's a quick dry, professional paint. Kasumi got it for me," Shepard told him.

Thane ran his hand down her face, it felt like the markings were part of her face, her skin felt as smooth as ever. He dropped his hand down to her waist where he skimmed his fingertips over the beads there. His eyes caught a tear in the cloth running diagonally down her ribs and stopped above her navel.

"What happened here?' Thane's brows crinkled in confusion as he looked at her questionably.

"Old material. This thing belongs in a museum, somewhere down the years I bet it was cut into with something, or ripped by someone. I could fix it but I have never wanted to." Maria stroked the material of the dress around the tear lovingly. "I wanted it exactly how it was given to me."

Maria would sometimes speak about her parents or objects that had clearly been passed down by her parents in the same admiring, affectionate and proud tone she used now about her dress, but Thane could never understand why. _Why feel love for the people who abandoned you? My Siha has either not told me everything or is just a better person then I. _Thane smiled as he looked down at her fondly, _She __**is **__a better person then I. A better person than anyone I can imagine in this galaxy._

"Thane? What's wrong?" Maria waved her hand before his face to get his attention.

Thane blinked before speaking, "Your…feelings towards your parents and the things they have left you…I do not understand. How can you feel such love and pride for people who abandoned you Siha? The only reason Kolyat has even tried forgiving my own sins is because of you. What happened to cause you to not only forgive, but love your family?"

Maria's own eyelids blinked rapidly her head turning down as she took in his questions. He was not the first person to ask her that, Rex, Garrus and Tali had had similar question before.

Shepard's face turned up to her lover's as she decided something, "Come on, I want to show you something."

Maria took Thane by the hand and led him through the mingling crew. Jack was currently in a drinking contest with Grunt, Zaeed and Jacob. Kasumi was dressed as a ghost, her painted blue and white skin was covered in flowing see-through robe like material and her face was as usual half covered and instead of the purple line through her lips she chose a frost blue mark. Ghost Kasumi was chatting with fairy Kelly and Ken/Garrus. As Maria led the way closer to the outside of the party area they got a glimpse of the many other costumes the crew were running around in.

Thane kept silent as Maria led him to the back of the Cargo Bay, down the narrow hall that only had three doors, two on the left and one on the right. One of them was something like a maintenance room, the other two were completely empty, left for storage possibly. Thane was pulled in the direction of the first door on the left, the music from the main floor of the Cargo Bay could barely be heard from this far away.

Before pressing the red pad glowing on the door, Maria turned to Thane to speak, "Do you remember me telling you how Halloween is different for my culture?" Thane nodded yes, "Well I know you have noticed me disappearing during the week and I'm actually shocked that you didn't follow me to find out." Thane had thought about doing just that, but his guilt of acting suspicious of Maria would have drove him mad. Maria continued, "Well, this is what I have been working on."

Maria unlocked the door and both of them stepped through. Thane's lips parted slightly as he looked around the room, the lights flicked to life, illuminating the colorfully decorated room. The walls had been painted in green and yellow, two walls green the other two yellow. In front of him was a sort of alter or shrine, many pictures, possibly a hundred were littered across the green background of the wall. Many candles of varying sizes and color were lined neatly across the wooden surface of a table that sat bellow the pictures on the wall. Flowers and food were also laying on the long table and a cross the size of Thane's hand stood in the middle surrounded by the yellow, red, purple, and orange petal flowers and many different foods. Also decorating the table were small skulls, colored or painted with different designs that reminded Thane of the face paint Maria wore and her tattoos. Surrounding this whole scene was an arch made of what looked like wood with flowers and ribbon twisted and threaded around it.

Thane's feet carried him closer to the beautiful scene, something about it all had a warm, calming and serine effect on him, but there was also an underlining of sadness.

Thane turned his head to look at Maria, who had her arms crossed over her chest as she watched him from the side, "Siha, what is all this?"

Maria walked closer to him, facing her work, "_Día de los muertos. _Actually, today is _Día de los Angelitos."_

Thane's lips quirked at hearing her language, his arms snaked around her middle as he lowered his forehead to touch her own, "I will never tire of hearing you speak your language. You could curse me all day, so long as it's in Spanish and I would not care."

Maria wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his smile, "_He sido bendecido con su amor." _

Thane kissed the side of her neck, a pleasant hum coming from his chest that reached his lips and sent chills down Maria's body. Shepard placed a hand on his chest as she leaned back to look at his eyes again, still remaining in his arms as she spoke, "What the crew is celebrating out there is a kind of western idea of Halloween…and is usually celebrated on October 31st. Kelly missed the date by one day, on Earth it's November 1st, which is _Día de los Angelitos _in Mexico; day of the angels."

Thane raised an eye ridge at this, turning his head every which way to look at the room again. "What is that exactly?"

Maria wore a thoughtful look as she thought over how to answer. "In my culture, we don't mourn death, we celebrate it." Thane's blank expression urged her to continue. "It's not like we are not sad that we have lost loved ones, but we feel like we can never _truly lose _them and the two days of _Día de los muertos_ is a celebration for the dead." Maria slipped from Thane's arms and took him by the hand, leading him closer to the alter. "We lay out food, flowers, candles to light the way." Her free hand waved over the offerings on the table before moving to point above them on the wall, "And these are the pictures of people I have lost, the people I am celebrating. On this day, they all come back to celebrate with me."

Thane couldn't believe how many pictures she had up there. His quick eyes shifted left from right, counting out as many as he could. There were eighty-two according to his count, and some were group shots. Thane could pick out some aliens among the sea of humans as well.

Thane turned to look at her at his side, her own green eyes seemed to be glowing as she stared at the photos, "You said this day was called Day of the angels. Why the special name?"

"November the 1st is the first day out of the two, celebrates and remembers children and babies that have been taken at young ages." Maria said in a tone that was slightly mixed with sadness, her accent thickening as she spoke.

Thane grew a bit solemn at that, his dark eyes picking out several photos of children immediately. Next to the picture of a smiling, gap tooth, brown haired boy with bright blue eyes was a photo that caused him to do a double take. A thin woman reaching barely the shoulder of the well-built man next to her had a remarkable resembles to Maria herself.

The woman was lightly tanned and her thick curly brown hair fell around her heart shaped face where the brightest green eyes sat below thick, slightly curved black eyebrows. Her smile showed off her many white teeth and her small nose perfectly straight. The human woman wore a faded red dress that was trimmed in black. The dress might have been beautiful once, however, the material was worn out and ripped at the skirt. Thane noticed smudges of dark brown on her face, as if she had been working in the dirt that day.

The man next to her was thickly built, his shirtless form showed off his muscles and toned body. Thane had a feeling this man was very tall, his arms looked extremely long, indicating a lengthy reach. He had darker skin then the woman and a long face with a strong jaw. Black locks of hair reached the tops of his shoulders and light brown eyes were half lidded under thick black untamed eyebrows. His lips were thick as they gave a closed lipped smile to the camera, one arm around the small woman and the other held a heavy looking crate on his shoulder. Dirt smeared his chest and face as well.

"These…they are your mother and father?" Thane looked to Maria, receiving a nod as an answer.

_She looks so much like her mother, only with her father's straight hair. Her mother and her shared the same smile. _

A beep on Maria's omini tool startled him, his head turned quickly to stare at the now glowing omini tool on her arm. Maria read the message there quickly before clicking the tool off, walking to a terminal on the counter adjacent to the alter that Thane hadn't noticed. Shepard tapped away at the keys and seconds later a loud noise like people screaming joylessly filled the room.

"_Está allí?" _Thane heard someone shout over the cheering and loud blast of fireworks that had started.

"_Sí. Tengo alguien conmigo. Hable inglés_!" Maria spoke to however was on the other line of the terminal before turning her head to Thane. "Want to meet my family?"

Thane blinked, his body not moving as he stared back. Meeting her family caused him to become slightly nervous, but he was curious and knew he would have to meet them sometime during their relationship, if they made it back from their suicide mission and if his health allowed him to.

Thane walked slowly towards the Commander, peering over her shoulder at the woman on the terminal screen. Her face was a mirror image of her sister's, except for the long _black _hair that ran in curls down her shoulders and back, her light brown eyes blinked up at him. She was thinner than her sister but it was hardly noticeable unless you were trained to watch for the smallest details like he was, a scar running across her chest looked like someone had tried to cut her heart from her chest. Another scar split the side of her lip and it looked much more recent due to the red angry coloring of it. Her sister, Latika he remembered Maria calling her, wore a navy blue shirt and a silver chain around her necklace with a cross pendent that held blue stones the same as Maria's own cross.

Latika's brow lifted as a smile spread across her lips when Thane's face came into view, "So you are Thane. Nice to finally meet you, so to speak." Her face turned to her sisters, "_El es muy guapo." _The two woman's smiles grew as they chuckled and Thane had a feeling he was being spoken about, his red ridges growing brighter was the only indication that he was slightly embarrassed.

"Where are the boys?" Maria asked once she gained control over herself.

"I'm going to the house right now. Let me beep you when I'm there." Latika shouted as she passed a particularly loud group of painted face teenagers with sparklers.

"Talk to you in a minute." Maria waved before shutting off the terminal.

"Do I even want to know what she said about me?" Thane asked, still slightly embarrassed for whatever reason.

Maria gave him a large smile, "She says you are very handsome."

Thane's brows lifted slightly, his ribbing at his throat brightening even more. He coughed into his hand and changed the subject quickly. "You two look very much alike. Very much like your mother too."

The two lowered to the floor in front of each other as they sat.

"I know. I once had a woman stop me in the street thinking I was my mother. That was before I knew who my parents were or if they were even alive. All I could do was stare at the lady with my mouth open." Maria laughed lightly at the end, playing with the hem of her dress.

"Siha, what happened to cause you to forgive them?" Thane asked softly.

Maria stared into his face, her mind going back years. "That's a long story." Her voice was low and hoarse with emotion.

Thane straightened his spine, "I have time."

Maria gave a weary smile, shifting her eyes slowly back and forth from her feet to her dress line. "I guess it all starts from when I was found on the steps of the orphanage…"

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	31. Sacrifice

_**Ok so this is how the telling of Maria's past will go...**_

**The next few chapters will be about the beginning of Maria's life, all the way to how she signed up for the military. The chapters will be written like past chapter, like they are happening now and not just Maria giving a lengthy summary about her life. I wanted to give a lot of attention to the telling of Maria's story for a few reasons. One, she is really the main character of the story, I mean you can't have Mass Effect without Shepard. Two, I got really detailed and creative with developing a complete back story of this character and want to give it a proper telling. Last, Maria's sibling will eventually become full blown characters in the story with sub plots and an impact on what happens. So I feel by telling Maria's story in it's completion, which includes her parents and sibling, you will get a better background of these future characters as well. **

**So I hope that sounds ok and I really hope you like what I do. Thank you for your continued reviews so much and your favorites, they really encourage me to continue =). **

**Please enjoy.**

A hot wind blew through dirt streets, the stars shone bright in a black sky and two figures, one very thin and small, the other tall and built strong, trekked slowly toward the gates of the brick church, both with heavy hearts that felt like they were slowly breaking. The small figure wore a tattered gray and blue dress and shoes that looked like they had been stitched together, barely holding the owners small feet in. This person held a bundle of blankest in their arms, the tall one carried a card bored box, his own brown boots had no laces and were duck taped shut, his pants were splattered with mud and had holes that matched the flannel shirt he wore over a dingy wife beater.

As the couple got closer to the church, and stepped on the cobble stone path just outside the gates, the candle lit lanterns on either side of the iron gates illuminated their faces, revealing a tear stained face of a short, tan woman with long brown hair and large almond shaped eyes of bright green. The much larger figure was a darker skinned man with black curtains of hair touching his shoulders and sharp brown eyes. The man looked strong and powerful, but the sad slope of his mouth and the tension in his jaw were signs of his barely contained emotions.

"Pete." The woman turned to the man, her eyes wide with fear and sorrow as she stopped her walking just before entering the gates. "I…I don't want to do this." She spoke in a hurried and hushed voice, her Spanish quick and harsh.

Pete looked up at the doors of the church, his mind going over the last four month and the hard choices his wife and him had made and were still making right now. The black haired man shook his head sadly, not seeing any better alternative to the situation, wishing there was something he could do. "Angie, _mi amor." _He reached out his large callused hand to caress the side of his wife's face, "This is the best hope she has. You know if I could do something, anything to stop this I would. But we decided, this is the only way."

Angela shook her head fiercely, her eyes narrowing and held a fire in them, "No! No, this is not the best." Her voice began to rise as she spoke. "She needs us, she needs her parents! I can't leave here her." Fresh tears began to roll down the woman's cheeks as she held the bundle closer to her chest.

Pete stared down into the sleeping face of his baby daughter, six months old with a full head of long dark brown hair and large green eyes like her mother. Her small mouth opened and closed unconsciously and her small nose scrunched in her sleep as she turned a bit in her blankets. God new that he didn't want this, but sadly the church with the orphanage connected on the side would be able to give his daughter a better life then he could now. Pete felt helpless at this moment, barely able to give his wife a life worth living, barely able to keep them off the streets. The hard truth that their poor cities church could feed and cloth his daughter when he could barely feed any of them was like a slap in the face to the man who wasn't use to feeling so vulnerable.

"We have been over this a hundred time Angie. What do we do when we can no longer feed her, cloth her? What happens when we are out in the streets? How do we keep her warm?" Pete had tears in his own eyes now, "She will be taken care of here, educated, loved. At this point it seems love is the only thing we can offer our girl but that won't keep her alive when we starve. Also, look at where we live, it's dangerous, too dangerous. José was already asking about when Maria gets older." Cold fear and rage gripped Angela at that, knowing what her husband meant. "I will die before I see that happen. You know the _padre, _he will keep her safe." Pete held Angela's shoulders as he spoke his last words, trying to convince her no matter how hard this was, it was the best choice.

Pete cradled his wife in his arms as they slowly made their way towards the steps of the church, Angela's soft crying sounded loud in his ears. As their shabby shoes touched the lower step, Angela collapsed, gathering baby Maria close to her chest, whispering how much she loved her and praying for God to watch over her. Pete bent down on one knee, one arm around Angel's shaking shoulders and the other holding the cross around his neck.

"Bless us father. Our holy savior. I ask that you watch over our child, my baby girl Maria Angela Rivera Shepard. Protect her father, see her through life, loved, clothed, fed, educated." Pete felt hot tears silently run down his cheeks as he continued, "Give her a better life then I can now. And bless us with the means to have her come back to us one day." Pete finished off his silent prayer with an amen and turned his head to his wife who was still bent over, her head touching Maria's as she slept, whispering in Spanish her many prayers for her daughter.

The time to walk away came too fast and Pete had to almost drag Angela away after knocking loudly on the church doors, knowing someone would hear.

"Hello?" The gruff but kind voice of Father Manuel spoke to the darkness and the heat. His out dated and rare to find in this part of Mexico omini tool glowed white, illuminating the stoop of the church, and the bundle of blankets in a basket next to an open card board box filled to the brim with varies items.

The _padre _looked all around and out into the distance, but he saw nothing. Movement in the basket drew his attention and his eyes softened as they landed on the small round mocha face of a sleeping baby in the basket. The holy man bent down and picked up the basket in one arm and the box in the other, bringing both into the church.

"_Está todo bien?" _Sister Yolanda came speeding towards him in her night cloths, a worried look on her face when she spotted the child in the buddle of blankest.

"Sí, sí. She was not left long. It seems whoever left her seems to want her to have many memories." The father passed the small baby into the open arms of the sister and placed the box on a table nearby, picking up the letter on top." Manuel carefully read through the first page addressed to himself. After reading the neat script, he returned the page back to its envelope and set it safely back into the box. After a short search he found the much thicker envelope inside with Maria's name on it and placed it back into the baby's belongings.

"Sister, please take her into her new rooms with the other children, but first." The padre rummaged through the box once more, having to go to the bottom to find what he wanted. In his dark hand he pulled out a plane wood box. Yolanda brought the baby closer as Manuel opened the box, revealing a beautiful gold necklace, the cross in the middle held brilliant rubies shining up at them. "This is to be hidden under her cloths at all times. When she is older we will teach her why." The woman nodded and allowed the padre to fasten the short chain around the baby's neck, fixing it so it was hidden under her red dress.

Slowly, Maria's eyes began to open, large, bright green orbs stared up into Manuel's dark brown ones; he knew immediately whose child this was. _Aye Angie, poor woman. I will watch over Pedro and your daughter as will God. I pray for all of you._

"Welcome to your new home little Maria," Manuel spoke softly down to her.

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	32. Seduction

**And the story continues...**

"Maria, pay attention child." Sister Olivia sighed tiredly, having had to draw Maria's gaze away from the window for the third time that day.

Maria's head spun to face the kind holy woman, her straight brown hair wiped her face, her cheeks turned a light red from embarrassment as her large green eyes darted down, "_Lo siento." _The four year old girl spoke softly.

"English Maria." The woman encouraged her, all the other children's eyes in the makeshift classroom were on the pair.

Maria's face screwed up in concentration, the words forming in her head as her mouth and tongue figured out how to speak them. "I…I am surry." Maria stuttered, her heart shaped face looking up into the hazel eyes of Sister Olivia.

All the other little faces looked up to their instructor as well, wondering if their class mate had answered correctly.

Olivia gave Maria a kind smile, laugh lines appeared on her light skin, "_Sorry _Maria. Not surry. Sor-ry." The nun annunciated the words carefully. "But very good child." Olivia patted Maria's shoulder where her bright red shirt hung off her tiny arm. The action caused Maria to give the woman a wide smile, her eyes closing tight with happiness.

The children's language lesson was the last of the day, and as soon as the class let out, many tiny legs carried small bodies quickly from the room, shrieks of joy and happy chatter could be heard down the halls of the church.

"You are learning English good Maria!" Joshua spoke in Spanish, not yet comfortable speaking in either English or French, the two languages the class was learning. The dark brown boy with wild black curls gave his friend a smile, his front tooth missing from the white rows in his mouth, "You help me next time?"

Maria smiled back as they followed the path out of the stone church that would lead to the doors, "I don't know much, but I teach you if I can."

"Joshua, come on _mijo." _A short woman with a rounded belly protruding from the yellow dress she had on called to the young boy as the pair made their way out of the hall and to the main building of the church. Three other children left with their families, as a whole crowd left through the opposite doors of the church to the orphanage.

"I go now, but I see you tomorrow." Joshua gave the girl a hug, which she returned, their tiny thin arms wrapping around each other.

As Joshua skipped off, Maria's gaze followed him, her thick eye brows knitting together slightly as she whispered, "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

A pair of brown eyes across from the young girl observed her expression, a sadness growing in them every time she had to watch one of the other children, whose parents had to bring their kids to the churche's school, leave. The owner of the brown eyes sighed heavily, his heart constricting at the longing and hurt in the young girls large green eyes.

"Maria." Father Manuel startled the little girl but drew her attention away from her friend. "Come on _mijita. _Time for dinner." Manuel opened his arms, his brown robe sleeves hanging slightly from his arms.

Maria gave him one of her brilliant smiles and ran to him, jumping into his arms as he slung her on his shoulders, the young girl give a happy squeal. The padre really had a soft spot for the daughter of Angela and Pedro Shepard.

* * *

"Maria." A young boy's voice whispered in the darkness of the dorms, but received no answer. "Maria." He repeated, a little louder this time. The young black boy groaned in frustration, pulling back his sheets as he swung his feet over the side of his bed, garbing his pillow as he faced the sleeping girls bed.

_Whack! _His long arms swung the pillow down on her head. That got her up.

"_Dios mio! _What the hell do you think you are doing?" The thin girl with the large green eyes whispered furiously, her eyes narrowed as she glared at her friend.

"Come on." The boy only smiled, ignoring the look she gave him. "We are going outside so get your jacket." Without waiting for a reply, Michael hoped off his bed, his bare feet padding softly on the wood floor as he tried to be as silent as possible.

Maria watched his tall frame bend over at the waste, rummaging through his box at the foot of his bed, retrieving his own jacket. The young black boy slipped it on, the sleeves slipping past his hands and the whole thing hung baggy off him. The padre and sisters always kept the children clothed, but sometimes could only make due with limited supplies, so most of the children in the orphanage wore cloths two or three sizes too large.

"_You will grow into them soon enough children."_ Father Manuel's voice ran through Maria's head as she watched her friend slip on a pair of worn but intact black shoes that once were two sizes to big, but now fit him perfectly. At the rate he was growing however, the shoes would be passed down to someone else and he would be given hand-me-downs himself, another pair two sizes to big.

"Come on _chiqua. _What you doin just sitting there?" Michael waved his hands upwards, trying to get the girl to get out of bed. He moved to the next bed in front of his own, waking the sandy blond haired girl there.

_What is he up to now, _Maria internally groaned. However, she did rolled out of her bed, being careful to not catch her night gown, which was only a man's T-shirt, on the visible spring sticking out from her mattress.

The now much taller, but still quite thin, girl walked to her own box. Six years had past since she watched Joshua walk out of the church with his mother, ever since then Father Manuel always seemed to show up and take her away somewhere or escort her to lunch before Joshua or her other outside friends left her.

Maria pulled some dark blue jeans from the box and slipped them on under her night shirt and also pulled forth a hand kitted black beanie which she pulled over her long brown hair. The ten year old didn't bother with shoes, she hated them and she would be warm enough with what she had on, the shirt being quite thick.

"You ready?" Micheal's voice asked behind her eagerly. The equally eager, short form of the blue eyed white girl behind him stared up at her with a smile, waiting for an answer. Maria gave the two a nod and the trio crept silently through the dorms and out to the play area.

Michael lead the way to the far gate, the furthest away from any of the building. The slightly chilly wind blue through Maria's hair, tossing the long strands that weren't captured under her hat, all around her shoulders and back. Her bare feet kicked up the dust from the dirt ground they walked on and her hand played with the gold cross around her neck like she always did when she was thinking.

Maria had no clue why Michael had woken her in the dead of night to walk them out to the far gates and he probably wouldn't have told her if she did ask. Michael liked his secrets and dragged her along to all his shenanigans. One time she had inadvertently aided him in stealing two dozen freshly baked cookies from the kitchen, and all she had thought she had been doing was being kind and keeping the door open for him while he got a snack. Sister Yolanda had caught them and both of them had been punished for a week, receiving kitchen clean up duties. As much as she loved Michael as her brother, he was a real pain in the ass sometimes.

As the children stopped at the gate, Maria immediately noticed something was off. Her green eyes darted back and forth over the gate and in the corner found what was missing. The green glow of the halo shield was not present around the corner pole connecting the adjacent fences. The shield was put in so no tampering could be done to the metal fence, animals couldn't burrow under or injuries could not be caused by running into it.

"Michael. What is going on?" Maria spoke suspiciously, her eyes now searching in front of her and beyond the gate, all her eyes met was darkness after the illuminating light from the street lamps reached their limit.

Michael said nothing and Alyssa looked frightened now, her small arms grabbing the front neck of her hoodie nervously. Instead of speaking Michael grabbed a stick from the ground and began running it against the chain linked fence, the sound echoing slightly in the darkness.

Maria's eyes narrowed as she watched him, but shortly after, some movement could be detected from in front of the gate. Two people shaped figures started to make their way out of the darkness, crossing the street tell they were illuminated by the light. Maria's jaw dropped as she recognized the people, having seen them hanging around the orphanage and church for the last three weeks.

"Hey lil man, glad you could make it." A males voice spoke under a red hood, only his smile showing, along with a trimmed soul patch sitting under his lips.

"Yeah." Mike looked very pleased with himself. His head turned to the two girls behind him before looking back at the two people in front of him and continuing, "I brought my friends like you asked too."

"I see that." The man in the hood spoke, his hands lifting to the material and pulling it back to reveal a long face with a strong jaw, straight nose, high check bones under eyes the color of the darkest black and a full head of short black hair. The man's head had intricate designs shaved into his hair, it looked like some sort of tribal.

The man waved his hand to the woman next to him, also wearing a long red jacket over a black crop top with fitting red jeans with the same tribal symbol Maria suspected that the man had on his head. The Aztec jaguar stood out clear to Maria's eyes as the woman shifter her weight to her back leg, crossing her arms over her chest as the man introduced her as Anita. Her red lips turned up in a smirk as her long black hair tipped with red as well fell over one shoulder when she nodded to them, her light brown eyes, which were outlined in thick black liner and red eyeshadow, had a cool, confident look to them.

"What do you want with us?" Maria spoke coldly, pissed off that Michael had lead them out here to meet with a couple of Red members.

"Looks like someone has some fire. That's good, we need more people like you." The man spoke to her in his cool voice. He continued, "My names Orlando, leader of the Seventh District Reds, and thanks to your friend here, we would like to extend an invitation to all of you, to join us."

"_Vete a la chingada." _Maria cursed with venom.

"Maria!" Michael grabbed her arm, his eyes pleading for her to shut up. Alyssa just looked between the two, her expression lost and unsure about how to feel.

"No!" Maria yanked her arm out of the boys hold. "How could you do this Michael? You know what Father Manuel has said about them. They are no good lying, stealing, cheating thugs. I'm pretty sure he took a shot at that _bruja." _Maria pointed her sleeve covered figure to the woman in red, "Because she refused to leave the church two weeks ago."

Anita just smiled, a kind of twisted, sinister smile but Orlando was the one to speak, "You obviously have some strong opinions of us, Maria was it?" Maria and Mike turned their heads to Orlando, "You don't need to say yes now, take a few days, weeks if you have to, to think it over. But let me tell you what we are offering." A strange look came over Orlando's eyes that Maria, nor Mike and Alyssa could describe. Later on, Maria would come to realize the look was a look of seduction. Orlando could sell meat to a vegetarian and make a nun drop her panties in a second if he wanted, he was a master of persuasion and allure.

Orlando stepped closer to the gate, his hands lacing through the chain link fencing, "What we offer is something all of you have wanted since you could remember, something that was denied from you all your life, something you know is missing every time you feel that strange empty feeling inside you, the same feeling that leaves you feeling alone even in a crowded room." At this point Michael and Alyssa weren't the only two hanging off the older man's words, Maria found that she could not tear her eyes away from his handsome face even if she wanted to. Orlando gave them a sly smirk, noticing the effect his words were having on them. "You want a family."

Maria felt something click in her head, his words almost feeling like he was only speaking to her. The girls right foot moved an inch towards the gate as she unconsciously leaned forward. Orlando knew he had her.

"The Reds could be your family. Come with us and you will have everything you ever wanted, everything you could hope for. Money, friends, family, cloths that actually fit." His eyes ran up their bodies, giving their shabby, baggy cloths a disgusted look before continuing, "You three come to the Reds and your family will take care of you." His voice had dropped to barely above a whisper, intended to make sure they listened carefully and the message really sank in.

Michael stepped forward, past Maria's stoic form, "What do we have to do?"

This time Maria didn't but in. This time she gave no protests. Tonight, she was going to figure out how to get the one thing she had craved since the days she had to watch her classmates walk away with their families.

Orlando gave a wide smile, before instructing the trio on what they had to do.

_**Please Review!**_


	33. Initiation And A New Family

**Wow it has been so long since I undated and I apologies for that. Thank you all for your reviews and favorites and I hope you continue to enjoy the story. This is a long and complicated chapter, I think my beta and I got all the mistakes but if we didn't I apologies. **

**I really hope you all like this, please send me reviews and tell me what you think.**

Three days. That's what it took for the group of three kids to make it to the city. This was their initiation process. If a person lived out in the desert itself, they had to make it to the city on their own. If they lived in the city, they would be taken, blind folded and driven out to the desert towns and left there to fend for themselves with no money, no food and only a bottle of water. This test was well coordinated and measured out. Trips took one full day by vehicle and three days by foot, a hopeful recruit had four days to get back to the city and into the right district.

"_It takes three days to get to Mexico City from here. You plan and you grab what you think you need for the trip. This is a test of survival, only the strong survive. So be strong." _

These were Orlando's last words after being told by the kids that they would be ready in two days. The holo protection on the far gate remained down for those two days and on the second night, the three children left.

Now they were making slow progress to the towering buildings of Mexico City, the bright lights were now shining brighter in the low light of the setting sun. Maria's head was bowed to the ground, her half lidded eyes watching her bare feet kick up dirt and rocks from her path. The young girl staggered ahead of her two friends, who were in far worse shape than the bare foot girl, but still making their own sluggish progress towards the lights and noise of the city.

"_Luces…Luces." _Maria whispered, to herself or to her friends, she couldn't even be sure anymore if she was speaking out loud or in her mind. Her dry tongue ran over her chapped lips, trying to bring any form of moister to them as her dirt streaked face rose from it's lolled position against her chest. Her dirty hair parted from her face as she looked at the raised city, holo boards and the zoom of hover cars could be heard even from her distance.

Michael's own filth ridden face looked up at the sound of her mumbling, the gleaming city that had seemed so far and out of their reach only hours ago was now so close he could read the holo print reading, _Mexico City_. The high, green glowing freeways that they had only seen in books or the small TV Father Manuel let them watch on Saturdays, could also be seen at this point. The fast hover cars speeding along them could be heard by him now as well.

Michael tried to force his feet to move faster, pain shot through his left arm for his efforts. The boy let out a soft groan as his good hand cradled his right tenderly through his jacket, which was tied around his shoulder and across his chest as a makeshift sling. Michael looked into the sling at the sickly bent wrist, teeth marks marred the skin and green and purple bruising spread across the dark skin of his hand and forearm.

Alyssa staggered next to the boy, her eyes landing on the holo sign as well. However, as she stared, her feet ceased to move and her body swayed on the spot behind the others, before crumpling to the floor. Her thin, short legs buckled as they no longer had the strength to carry her any further. A cloud of dust formed around her tiny body as she hit the floor, a loud thud alerting the other two ahead of her.

Maria's head whipped around at the sound, a jolt of energy coursed through her body and she rushed to the younger girl's side.

"Lis, come on _mija, _you need to stand." Maria cradled the fair skinned girl's head in her hands. Alyssa's eyes started to lose more focus as Maria continued to speak, "Come on baby girl get up. We are almost there. We can get you water and food…" Maria's hand skimmed over the claw mark that opened up the blue eyed girl's shoulder. The dry blood there was mixed with the cleansing salve Maria had stuffed in the wound. Unfortunately, the aloe vera and maize would only help fight infection for a day and it had already been two. Maria's eyes lifted from the wound to the nine year olds face, "We will get you medicine." The green eyed girl's words were weak and spoken as a plea, hoping Alyssa's now closed eyes would open.

Michael dropped down next to Maria, shaking Alyssa with his good hand to no avail. The boy's voice grew louder as he yelled Alyssa's name and willed her to get up.

Maria's head turned to the setting sun, the orange and red glow was half way behind the horizon, night would come soon. Her hardened face turned back to her unconscious friend and made a quick decision.

"Move." Maria pushed on Michael's good arm, clearing him away from Alyssa's body. The darker girl picked up her much lighter friend and swung her up in her arms, situating the limp body over her shoulder. Maria turned her body slowly back to Michael's as he stood, "Come on. Night will come soon and we can't be out here when it comes. We need to be in the city or closer to it." Maria turned back to their goal, her hardened face calculating the distance. "We are about two miles out. Let's get going."

Michael said nothing, only nodded his head curtly to her orders, following behind his friends surprisingly quick pace. His eyes switched between the city and Alyssa's unconscious face. Michael sent out a silent prayer that God would watch over all of them.

* * *

"You carried her the rest of the way?" Thane's deep voice questioned mesmerized.

"Yes." Maria answered simply. "She was still breathing, only passed out. And breathing or not, I wasn't leaving her behind."

The couple sat on the floor of the room, five photos taken from the wall sat between them. Two were single shots of Alyssa and Michael as young kids, wearing happy smiles and baggy clothes. The other three were photos of the two with other groups of humans and one photo of only the three.

Alyssa had grown to be a tall, thin beauty with a pixy hair cut full of sandy blond hair. Her lean body had many piercing through her light skin. One was through her navel, two studs sat below her lower lip, followed by three in her upper right ear and two in her lower left ear. Only one black design stood out against her leg in the photo of an entire group of Red members. The same design appeared in some form on every member in the photo, including the young black boy that had turned into a towering, firmly built man.

Michael stood at six foot three and weighed 240 pounds. His black hair was completely shaved and his deep brown eyes sat under a pair of bushy black eyebrows. The fitting black tank top he wore showed off not only his bulging muscle structure but the black tattoo of the same Aztec jaguar as the rest of the gang members, including Maria.

"These." Thane pointed to the much younger Maria in the photo curiously. "What happened to these?"

Maria looked down at the Aztec jaguars that were proudly displayed on either side of her younger self's chest, the number seven clutched in both animals claws. Maria stared at the stoic girl in the photo for a while. Red tube top, black pants and her ever present red bandana tide around her arm; the tattoos stood out boldly against her smooth skin.

The woman's eyes traveled back to Thane's, her hand unconsciously feeling the spot on her chest, which was now bare, as she spoke, "My first tattoos. The Aztec jaguar was the symbol for all Reds and the seven distinguished me as a member of the seventh district." Maria paused, looking down at the picture once more before letting it fall out of her hand and flutter back onto the floor. "To answer your question…" Her head rose to meet Thane's stare once more, "The reason they are gone now, is because they didn't make it past the rebuilding process. The ink wasn't burnt into my skin the way the others were, with a laser. The tattoos were cut into my skin, with an old fashion tattoo gun. The ink works into the skin differently and apparently Miranda tells me they couldn't save the older tattoos." Maria's hand fell away from her chest, her voice growing more hollow as she continued, "Can't say I'm particularly sad about that. I left that life behind me a long time ago. Now it's been erased from my body as well."

Thane stared at her with his large, unblinking eyes, absorbing and processing everything she had revealed to him so far. A thousand new questions ran through his head, and she still had yet to tell him the part of why she had this connection to her parents.

Maria gave him a knowing smile, "I know you still have lots of questions. Just let me finish and then you can ask all the questions you want."

Thane nodded and rested his back against the wall, listening once more to the sound of her voice and the words she spoke, committing all to memory.

* * *

"You made it!" A familiar and excited voice called from the top railing of the warehouse Maria had lead Michael to; Alyssa's body still unconscious over her back.

The tall, two story warehouse sat in the middle of a cluster of buildings. As Maria stared up at the thin figure of Orlando on top of the roof, looking down over the railing of the building, she also noticed others on the neighboring buildings doing the same. However, Orlando didn't have a gun pointed down at her. None of his fellow gang members made it obvious they were aiming for her small group, but even in the dim lighting of a full moon, Maria could see the tension of their arms and the subtle shift of the automatic rifles barrel at their hip as Orlando announced them. This warehouse was their base, a sort of castle, guarded by it's warriors, and Orlando, their king.

"Yes. My friends need medical attention and water now." Maria quickly informed Orlando above her. Her eyes shifted around her as she spoke, making direct contact with few, her face remaining strong, showing no weakness.

"Open the doors!" The man shouted to a group below him.

Maria watched as the red garage doors swung up quickly, a strange swishing sound followed their ascent. The quickness of it all startled the young girl, causing her to pull back in shock. However, she recovered quickly and hurried in through the doors, the white fluorescent lights temporarily blinding her to what was inside.

"Prepare some medi gel and a brace. Water too!" Orland's shouts could be heard getting closer before Maria could actually see him, but her green eyes slowly adjusted to the bright lights, a tall handsome man's figure came into view, along with the rest of their surroundings.

Maria's head shifted back and forth as she took in the red and black decorated area, lines of shiny cars were parked to her left but the rest of the massive warehouse was set up as a large living space. Couches, chairs, dining tables, large halo TV's were situated around the first floor. Near the back and to the right, Maria could see a cut out in a wall that looked like it led to a kitchen. Surrounding her group, were various people of different, color, sizes and gender, but the one thing they all had in common, were the red and black colors they wore.

Maria was pulled from her observations of the area when she felt the tugging of someone trying to lift Alyssa off her shoulder. The young girl's head spun so fast she looked like a blur and the dangerous look in her eyes caused the man who had been trying to help her, stop completely, his hands lifting on reflex.

"Whoa, calm down Maria. He is only trying to help. We need to get your friend to a bed so we can help her." Orlando placed a hand on the wild looking girls shoulder, which caused her furious look to turn on him, however, Orlando did not pull back. "_Permítanos ayudarle." _He spoke softly to her.

It shocked Maria that he knew how to speak Spanish. English was typically the universal language for all countries. There was a major culture loss after World War III in 2087, the fight for resources devastated the whole world and it wasn't until 2148, when missions to Mars started up again and the discovery of eezo four years later, that Earth could start to relax. However, the sixty one years of struggle and rebuilding took its toll on poorer countries, like Mexico, which resulted in Spanish coming close to becoming a dead language. Many people in Maria's home could speak it only because of Father Manuel's stress on teaching everyone the native language, his way of restoring a little more of their culture.

Maria's eyes shifted to the man's hand on her shoulder before shifting back to his eyes with a much more relaxed look. The girl nodded her head and allowed the other man behind her to take Alyssa from her. Maria's eyes followed Alyssa's carrier, and Michael, who were both being led up a stairs to the top floor. Michael's eyes locked with Maria's the whole way and she could see a slight fear in them, before they disappeared around a corner.

Maria made to follow her friends but was caught around the waist by Orlando's strong arm. The man bent his head down to her ear and whispered to her, his chin pressed lightly against her temple as he whispered to her "You need to trust us Maria. You came all this way and clearly risked your lives to join us. Don't assume we are going to hurt or betray you after all that. Don't let your sacrifice become worthless."

Maria stared up into his black eyes, the way he spoke and looked at her made her realize he wasn't just referring to the trip they made across the desert, but also the sacrifice that came with leaving the only life she had ever known behind, and people she cared for as well.

Maria nodded once more, Orlando's head turned to look her in the eye, allowing Maria to lean in closer so she was almost nose-to-nose with him. "You're right. But you do anything to hurt them, I swear to you I will kill each and everyone one of you, and _you_, I'll save for last."

Orlando's head tilted to the side as his eyes ran over her body. _She couldn't be more than five foot three and maybe weighed a hundred pounds, a hundred and ten? And yet, she is making threats in a room full of people ready to take her out on my orders. _Orlando gave her a crooked smile, he knew he had found someone special when he first met her, and now she was only proving him right.

"How old are you?" Orlando asked softly. The girl spoke with such authority and her body had already developed light curves, but Orlando had a feeling she was much younger then how she appeared.

Maria blinked rapidly and her brows drew together in confusion at the sudden question. "I'm ten. Eleven in July."

Orlando's head nodded slowly before he took a step back from their close proximity, his arm no longer holding her back. She was very young, but he could already see the attractive woman she would become; inside and out.

"And already you have more fire and courage then most people three times your age." Orlando smiled at her, receiving not the slightest smile in return. The tall gang leader noticed her bare feet, remembering she was bare foot the first time they met as well. "Don't you ever wear shoes?"

Maria stared down at her dirty and cut feet, "Typically no." Maria raised her head to look him in the eyes, "But Alyssa's shoes had been carried off by something, so she has mine right now."

"You really look after those two." Orlando spoke in a fascinated voice. "I wonder, do you act this way towards everyone?"

Maria's feet shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and her hand came up to cup the back of her neck. "Yes, I do. Not everyone can survive without help."

"But you can?" Orlando challenged.

Maria's face hardened and her hand dropped to her side, "I'll find a way when I need to."

Orlando just stared at her, taking in her answers and her presence, his mind already forming the plans he had for her.

Maria's eyes started to shift, noticing the other people in the room that were staring at them. They were in the middle of the room and Maria didn't like the spotlight effect it had on her.

Orlando smiled at her discomfort and motioned for her, "Come on. Let's get you taken care of."

Maria only hesitated a moment before walking towards him and following him up the stairs. She was led past long, open rooms, whose metal doors would swish open every time they past. Strange glowing holo pads sat in the middle of the door, glowing green and disappearing each time the door opened and reappearing when it closed. By the time they reached the end of the hall, Maria had counted ten bed rooms and five bathrooms. Each bedroom had rows of comfortable looking beds in them, maybe fifteen to a room. As Orlando turned to the left at the end of the hall, Maria noticed to the right were seven other rooms and only five had glowing red holo pads while the others had nothing at all. Just by the spacing between the doors Maria could tell they were very spacious inside.

"What are those rooms for? The ones with the red?" Maria questioned behind the gang leader.

"We have four generals. Those rooms are where they sleep. Each general is in charge of two groups of soldiers. In these groups, there is one lieutenant, and each general commands two separate groups with one lieutenant in each. These under-bosses sleep in the same room as their soldiers, which is dived by the ten rooms you passed. Each general is responsible for two rooms, the soldiers and lieutenants in those rooms are their warriors to watch over and lead." Orlando explained

"You speak like you are fighting a war." Maria commented.

Orlando stopped suddenly and Maria was barely able to stop her own walk in time to not run into him. The tall man turned to her, his face serious, "We are fighting a war every day of our lives Maria. We fight to survive, we fight for a better life, we fight for honor and we fight for our family."

"And is constantly being in a war, killing, fighting, dealing, that's all supposed to be a better life then we had?" Maria questioned forcefully.

"For some of us, yes." Orlando's voice was bitter sounding and his head bowed for a moment before meeting the girl's eyes again, "When is the last time you left the orphanage Maria? How many times did you leave? Think of who taught you? Who raised you? The padre, he's a good man and I would be willing to kill someone for saying different, but he is possessive. He never allows the children to see what's outside the gates. You only get to view the world in one way. For some of us, the world wasn't so safe." Orlando stepped closer to Maria, the dimly lit hallway not allowing him to see her expression as well and he wanted to make sure she got this message. "You just think we are bunch of murderers, or at least you did, I doubt you would have come here if you didn't think there was some kind of good to this." He watched Maria's eyes shift, a sign that he knew he was right. "Well, we aren't just a bunch of killers. Do we kill? Yes. Do we kill innocent people? No. Does it happen sometimes? Yes. But we try to help the community here, we really do. You might look at all the technology here and think we have it better, but believe me, there is still a lot of poor and suffering in the city."

"How do you make your money? Drugs? Prostitution?" Maria questioned stoically. She wanted to hold on to the anger and hate she had always felt for the gangs but being here and speaking with Orlando she knew she couldn't.

"No drugs." Orlando cut down quickly. "Prostitution…" Orlando took a breath, knowing she wouldn't like this, "Yes. It is one of the many ways."

Maria glared up at him, but said nothing.

"Maria, we don't force woman to sell themselves and we don't recruit for it, but the option is there. For men and woman." Orlando smiled at the raised brow she gave him but chose not to comment about it. "There are going to be things you don't like about this life Maria, but you will never find a closer family then the one we offer, and you and your friends will be taken care of for the rest of your lives. And now you get to see outside that box you called home."

Maria stared up at him mutely, his words sinking in. There were things she was going to hate, but the idea of a real family and owning something of her own, it all made her head spin in a wonderful way, and there was something about Orlando that she liked, something that she trusted.

"You said there were four generals, but there are ten rooms. What about the two extra rooms unaccounted for?" Maria questioned curiously.

Orlando smiled at her silent acceptance to her new life. "As district leader I also second as a general. Not only is it my responsibility to watch over and run my district, but I also take control of two teams myself."

"And which one will we be in?" Maria asked lightly.

"Central." Orlando spoke amusingly.

"Want to answer my question in a way I can understand?" Maria asked testily.

"No." Orlando answered in the same amused voice, before turning and continuing down the hall.

Maria scowled at his back but followed him down the remainder of the hall. The last door on the right swished open as they approached and the fluorescent lights illuminated the large room, which was set up as a sort of medical treatment area. Various machines that Maria had never seen before littered the room along with rows of beds. In the back of the room lay Michael and Alyssa, trays with bowls of soup sat on their laps along with bottles of water.

Orlando guided Maria through the room to her friends. As they drew closer, Maria noticed that Alyssa was now awake and not looking as sickly as she once did.

"Maria!" Both the kids shouted as their friend came into view.

"Maria! They put this green gel on me and it made my arm really cold but then my skin started to come together and now look! It's only like a scratch now." Alyssa's hurried voice spoke excitedly, showing the other girl the scar left.

"Check this out. You can see it clean my bites and set the bone back in place. And it doesn't even hurt." Michael got her attention, showing her the metal brace on his forearm, the glass cover showing the tiny mechanical arms cleaning and stitching away at his skin and applying the same green gel Alyssa talked about.

"I'm glad you're ok." Maria said to them, a small smile on her face. Then her attention turned to the man and woman looking over some holo pads next to Alyssa's bed, "Thank you."

The two strangers nodded and gave her a smile of their own.

"This is Gloria and Rafael Viejas. They are our medical team, actually went to college and everything. Brother and sister." Orlando explained.

"What's that stuff on his arm?" Maria questioned, pointing to Michael's arm.

"Medi gel. It will disinfect and seal any wounds. Of course, it depends on how bad the injury is. The brace is stitching some of the more deeper cuts, especially the infected once where the skin eroded." The brown haired, brown eyed male doctor explained to her. Medi gel is very useful for just about anything though. I wouldn't bother trying to patch someone up who can see through their stomach though." Rafael joked.

"I guess you probably have never even seen a quart of the stuff in the city have you?" Orlando questioned, receiving shaking heads in a reply. "You have a lot to learn then."

"So where do we go from here." Maria turned her full attention to Orlando, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tonight you rest and build up your strength. Tomorrow we will take you around the district, show you the limits. Tomorrow night, you will meet with the other district leaders and receive your final initiation, and your colors." Orlando explained.

All three of the kids nodded, thinking their own separate thoughts on the matter.

The kids thoughts were interrupted by Orlando's voice, "Well, you two have to stay here tonight. This is the safest part of the building, in the back and up high, so don't worry about your friends." Orlando saw the look in Maria's eyes when she realized she was going to be taken away from her friends. "You will be right down the hall from them."

Maria nodded and came around to give a hug to her youngest friend, "Don't forget to pray." She whispered into the girl's hair. Alyssa gave her a small nod, upset that she wouldn't be sleeping across from Maria like she had been for her whole life.

Maria and Michael nodded to each other, "Take care of her tonight." Maria told him.

"Take care of yourself." Michael replied.

"I'll be taking care of her little man. Don't worry about her. None of you worry. You're with your family now." Orlando assured them.

Maria allowed him to take her arm and lead her out of the room and down the hall once again, but they stopped short of the turn, a door with a red holo pad on it to their right.

"I'm sure you would like a bath and some knew clothes." Orlando spoke to her. Maria nodded to him.

The man turned to the door on their right, pressing the code that would open the door. "This is a spare bathroom and you can have it to yourself tonight. Only tonight, don't tell anyone I let you do this, I don't need Anita bitching at me." Orlando grumbled as he led her through.

Maria looked around the black and red decorated room, a smile coming across her lips at the gleaming metal and stone. A large shower stood to the right with a separate bath tub next to it. A sink with a large round mirror was situated on the left wall and the cool black tiles under her feet were relaxing.

"Take as long as you want. I'll have some clothes for you, in a few minutes. Towels are in the cabinet below the sink." Orlando pointed. Before walking out he turned to her one last time, "I'll be locking you in, just so you know. Like I said, I don't want anyone knowing you have used this bathroom and not all the men here are a gentleman like me." He gave her a sly smile at the end.

"Hold on." Maria stopped him before he could leave.

"Yes." He answered.

"How old are you?" Maria questioned, surprising him as much as he surprised her when he asked her the same question.

Both Orlando's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, giving away to his shock, breaking his smooth, confident look, which caused Maria to giggle at his expression. He recovered quickly and gave her a curious grin, "Why?"

"Answer the question?" Maria pushed.

Orlando paused for a moment, his arms coming to cross over his chest as he answered, "Sixteen."

Maria's head tilted and now it was her turn to look him up and down. Orlando had to be at least six feet tall and his body was fully developed. His sleeveless shirt showed lean sinewy muscles and multiple scares through many tattoos. His attitude and the way he carried himself also gave him an older appearance, but there was something off about it that Maria had noticed. That was what made her wonder if he was as old as he appeared; obviously he wasn't.

Maria shook her head, an amused expression on her face. Orlando scowled self-consciously, his feet shifting under him. "What?" He demanded.

Maria just stared at him, now completely at ease around the young man. She turned her back on him and went to grab a towel, as she walked over to the cabinet, she spoke, "I won't be long, I promise."

Orlando's arms fell to his side and he was tempted to question why she had seemed so amused, but chose to let it go. He went to turn for the door again and was stopped by Maria's voice once more.

"Oh and Orlando." Orlando made eye contact with the girl, her smile through him off. "Thank you."

Orlando blinked, shaking off the discomfort he felt with the new situation and change. He gave her a smile, "Don't thank me yet, I'll be putting you all to work real soon."

* * *

"The leader of your entire district was only a child?" Thane's surprised voice broke through the trance Maria found herself falling into as she told her story.

"Yeah. He was Alyssa's age when he joined and fought and bled for the Reds to earn his spot." Maria smirked at the displeased look on Thane's face. "Is it any better than being trained to kill at the age of six?"

Thane's face relaxed, his head bowing in understanding. Then his eyes returned to Maria's quickly. "Siha. Why did you join the gangs? Even as a child you did not seem the type to be swayed to that kind of life?" This was only one of the million questions spinning through his head.

Maria had asked herself the same question a hundred times in her adult life, never coming up with a satisfying enough answer. There had been so much wrong with the gang life, obvious things, but for some reason, at the time, she had felt as if she truly belonged and was cared for, like a real family. If she had to kill a rival, steal, sell illegal arms or even in the later years sell drugs, she would, and it all felt as natural as going to work to support your family, it felt like her duty.

"I wanted a family." Maria's voice was hollow and her eyes refused to meet his.

"But you had a family?" Thane questioned lightly, his eyes gentle though she would not meet them.

"At the time it felt like I had nothing." Maria finally raised her eyes to meet his black ones, fixing Thane with an intense stare. "I loved them. All of them at the orphanage, and they loved me, but…" Maria trailed off, her head falling once more to stare at the ground, not able to remain strong. "but when I had to watch my friends walk out of the church, something I was never allowed to do without being accompanied by the nuns or Father Manuel. I would watch them, hug their mothers and fathers, knowing they had a home, a _real _home I thought, the way it's supposed to be, with their own clothes and toys, I felt like I was missing out on something that was taken from me." Maria shook her head, her memories having to reach far back to recall exactly why she had left. "I was a kid, an orphan. I grew up thinking my parents never wanted me, never loved me. So why should anyone else? How would I ever be adopted when my own family didn't want me? I knew the Sisters and Padre cared for us, but there is still that voice in the back of your head that always asks, 'Do they really care, or are they just stuck with you?'" Maria toyed with the threads hanging from her dress, her jaw tight and her eyes sightless as she spoke, "I was selfish and naïve. I didn't know what I had and was taught that what I gained was so much better than the life I left."

Thane's eyes darted back and forth across her face, hidden behind long strands of brown hair. Her hard features had softened as she ended her speech, a deep sadness over taking her, something that ran to the very core of her being. This was something she carried with her always, her own personal hell which the rest of the squad seemed to carry with them as well. The only difference was, they had all been helped, most of them anyways. Maria was alone with her memories and her thoughts.

Thane pushed away from the wall with his hands, leaning forward until he was on his knees, close to Maria's body. The drell's hand lifted to her face, sliding past soft strands of hair to reach the smooth, warm surface of her skin. Thane's hand covered Maria's cheek, his finger tips reaching to the base of her skull, tilting her face to look him in the eyes.

"Siha." Thane's deep, rumbling voice breathed, sending a soothing ripple effect through the Commander's body.

Thane had her attention but could not form the words he wished to speak, so he chose to speak through his actions.

The assassin lowered his lips to hers, barely meeting while holding eye contact with his Siha. Maria's lips parted as she tried to draw closer, her warm breath teasing the soft scales of Thane's own lips. The controlled man's grip on her hair stopped her from gaining more contact, delaying the much wanted act a moment longer. He searched her eyes, the need and desire was there but the pain and sorrow as well. She was desperate to be rid of the painful memories, and his kiss seemed to be her relief.

Thane ghosted his lips over hers, feeling the pull she gave from her hair as she tried to lean in closer. Thane's lips traveled along her left cheek, under her eye and to her temple before descending down to her jaw, with each new spot his mouth pressed to her skin more. Maria gave a soft moan as his tongue reached out to taste the side of her neck, his teeth nibbling gently before returning to her lips once again.

"Siha, you will never be alone again. I love you." Thane whispered, passion and devotion filled his words before his mouth finally captured her own. The realization that he had just inadvertently lied to her didn't register with either of them. Thane's dwindling health was a distant thought that both chose to ignore.

Maria wrapped her arms around Thane's neck desperately, pulling him closer and throwing the both of them off balance. They both fell backwards onto the floor. This did nothing in stopping their kiss, it only grew more demanding as the Commander's back hit the floor.

_Beep. Beep_

Thane's lips stopped their journey from Maria's lips to her breasts, the hand that had been peeling off the shoulder of her dress and the hand that was under her skirt both stopped as well.

"Latika." Maria groaned under him.

"Pardon me?" Thane questioned confusingly.

"My sister, she is trying to call me again." Maria explained, pushing him off her gently and fixing her cloths as she remained kneeling on the ground, at the same time her hand searched for the button that would turn on the terminal above her.

"Maria? Where you at? Maria! Hello?" A young male's voice was calling over the terminal, his eyes seeing only an empty room of candles, food and photos.

Thane's brow rose curiously, his head peeking above the counter the terminal screen sat on, a human boy's face appeared.

"Hey, who are you? Where's Maria!" The boy practically shouted at him. His messy black hair fell into his light brown eyes which were narrowed suspiciously.

"Gabriel. Dammit, I told you to wait." Latika's voice joined the boy's.

"I just wanted to see her, but who is that?" Gabriel pointed at Thane's head, the drell was still sitting on the ground, just staring at the human.

"Latika! I'm right here. Hello Gabriel." Maria popped up from the floor, smiling at her younger brother.

"Maria!" The young man yelled, pulling away from Latika's hold as she tried to move him away from the screen. "Why were you on the floor? And what's that behind you?" Gabriel tried to look behind Maria, but Thane was still seated on the floor, not sure if he should stand.

"Ok that's it, move before I throw you across the room." When Gabriel refused to move, a biotic pulse erupted on the screen and Gabriel's angry yell as Latika threw him a couple feet away was heard around the couples empty room.

"I'm sorry Thane, he has never seen a drell before. And he forgets his manners." Thane stood from his hiding spot behind Maria, Latika's apologetic face stared up at him.

"It is no offense." Thane inclined his head to the woman.

"So this is the drell we have been hearing about." A much deeper male voice spoke from the other side of the screen. The man was unseen to the couple, but judging from the large smile coming across Maria's face, this new comer was someone she knew.

"Emilio." Maria spoke happily.

"_Mi hermana."_ Emilio's equally happy face came into view as he bent forward to be seen.

Thane could tell the young man was tall and heavily built with well defined muscles. His green eyes matched Maria's own, but the rest of his features were derived from his father. This was clearly the older son of Maria's parents.

"Since I have you all here now, and Gabriel has taken control of his mouth." The young boy was back on the screen, his mouth set in a scowl. "I can properly introduce you to Thane. Thane, this is my family."

Thane bowed at the waist, greeting the group, each of them gave a wave and a greeting of their own.

"So you're a drell? Huh, never pictured Maria with an alien. Ow!" Gabriel was smacked across the head by Latika for his comment.

"Can't you ever use your head before you speak." The woman raged at him.

"_Chinga infierno." _The boy grumbled as he rubbed his sore head.

"You want me to hit harder? Watch how you speak to me." Latika glared at her brother, her hand raising threateningly.

"Gabriel. Latika." Maria spoke sharply, drawing both of their attention. With one look from their older sister the siblings angry expressions fell and Gabriel apologized to Latika.

Thane watched silently, a warmth spread through his body at the almost motherly fear and respect she could draw forth from her siblings, even her adult sister had changed her demeanor with one word from Maria. Irikah had been able to do the same with Kolyat, the only one able to do so.

"Thane? You wouldn't be Thane Krios would you?" Emilio stared at him curiously.

Thane cleared his throat sheepishly before responding, "Yes, yes I am."

"The assassin then. Dangerous man Maria, but I imagine good to have in a fight, and on your mission. You keep my sister safe." Emilio spoke to Thane.

"Tell my dying breath." Thane vowed, bowing his head to the man, receiving a smile and a nod.

"Are you going to the church tonight?" Maria questioned pleasantly.

"Si. We were about to leave without Latika but she finally graced us with her presence." Emilio joked, placing a large brown hand on her shoulder.

"Transport was late. It was a bitch getting here." Latika answered.

"Are you still stationed on Plymouth?" Maria questioned.

"Yes. Have you considered what we talked about two weeks ago?" Latika's voice grew serious as did her expression. Emilio's own smile fell as he too grew serious. The only one who seemed out of the loop was Gabriel, and Thane.

"Yes I have. Both of you will get a reply from me after our mission is through here." Maria answered stoically.

"You aren't telling us everything about this." Emilio wasn't asking Maria, he was telling her.

"Would you tell me everything?" Maria questioned, receiving a reluctant no from both the soldiers.

"Just…" Latika started, but stopped short. Telling her sister to be careful would be pointless. They were soldiers, there was no such thing as being careful.

"I'll be coming back home. All of us will." Thane placed a hand on Maria's shoulder as she tried to reassure her siblings.

"It's just hard. Two years ago we had your picture up on the alter." Latika's voice trembled at the end of her sentence and Gabriel was seen whipping a tear away with the sleeve of his jacket. Even Emilio's eyes held a deep sadness and darkness in them, the twitch of his jaw making it evident that Maria's death was still a sore subject.

"I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere." Maria spoke firmly but lovingly, again with the voice of a mother Thane couldn't help but notice.

"We know. Just keep as safe as you can, Commander." Emilio spoke as equally as strong, force and a commanding presence was a trait that Emilio shared with his sister.

"_Nous vous rejoindrons après la mission_." Latika spoke in a completely different accent. The fact that this was a different language was not lost on Thane.

_How many languages did they know? _Thane wondered

"_Je n'ai pas décidé." _Maria responded in the same accent.

Latika scowled darkly from the screen, she looked like she wanted to say something but held her tongue. However, Gabriel did not.

"What are you all hiding? You always do that when you want to keep something from me?" The angry teen looked between his siblings.

"It is nothing Gabriel, let it go for now, I will tell you soon enough." Maria cut off anything Emilio or Latika could say to him, the boy seemed reluctant but his angry expression relaxed, but not by much. His arms folded over his chest and he remained silent.

A flash from Latika's omini tool drew everyone's attention, breaking the tension that had descended from Gabriel's attitude.

"Padre Manuel is calling, we need to leave. We will speak to you tomorrow night Maria." Latika spoke to the screen.

"Alright, all of you have fun and say your prayers. Gabriel enjoy yourself _mijo."_ The boy's eyes softened and he nodded to his sister.

"Love you all." The family said their goodbyes and signed off, leaving Maria and Thane alone again.

"They care for you very much. Almost like a mother?" Thane spoke softly behind her.

"Gabriel maybe. Latika listens like I am. But Emilio was too old to see me as anything but his sister." Maria turned to him as she spoke.

"How old were they?" Thane held Maria by the waist as he questioned her.

"Emilio was fourteen, Latika ten and Gabriel was only three." Maria's head bowed sadly at the end, her brother's and sister were so young when they lost their parents.

Thane lifted Maria's chin so she would stare into his eyes, eyes as black as night but held so much love. He kissed her neck tenderly, then her jaw, next her lips and last her forehead. With his soft mouth pressed to her head he spoke softly, "They have you Siha. And they love you, as you love them."

"You still don't understand Thane." Maria pushed gently from his arms. "It is my fault they were orphaned. I got their parents killed."

Thane's stared at her with confusion, "Siha, what do you mean?"

"The Reds came after their family because of me." Maria breathed out sadly. This was a story she had never fully shared with someone, until now.

_**Please Review!**_


	34. Regret

**I cant apologies enough for the lack of updating. Honestly, I have lost all inspiration to write, but I'm slowly trying to gain it back and hopefully I will be able to continue at a more fluid pace. **

**I really wanted to be done with this whole Maria flash back so I can move on with the story and I'm sorry but there will be one more chapter about her past life before I'm done with it. Then I can get on with finishing the story and to the second part of the story that I originally wanted to get to most. Thankfully, a lot of you seem to like this detail into Shepards past so hopefully you like this very long chapter, I think it's really interesting and hopefully so do you.**

**Thank you so much to all the people who continue to read this and I'm shocked all the time at how many favorites and even comments I still get. Thank you so much.**

Maria and Thane returned to sitting on the floor. Maria had gained control over her emotions and now she was ready to continue her story.

"I went from orphan, to street thug, to general in only five years. A group of Reds and I were attacked one night by a group of Brotherhood members. They were a rival gang of ours, from all the way back to when the gangs were first created. Remember when I told you about my arm being burnt, back in the car after getting Kolyat out of trouble?" Maria questioned.

Thane nodded as an answer.

"Well the woman coordinating the attack noticed I had the same red bandana as her wrapped around my arm. The Brotherhood shared the same red colors as us, only we were red and black and they were red and gold. Stupidest thing ever, but it caused a lot of people to be seriously injured and some lost their lives over it." Maria spoke bitterly, a look came over her eyes as if she could remember every face of the people that had been lost in the gang, and she could, easily. Her green eyes refocused as she looked into Thane's obsidian ones, continuing, "Well after they kicked the crap out of us, she lit my bandana on fire. Besides being spaced, that is honestly the worst pain I can remember ever being in," Maria muttered, rubbing her arm where the angry burns had once marred her now flawless skin. She remembered often wearing long sleeve shirts just to hide the marks that covered half her upper arm. No one had ever spoken badly about them. Hell about ninety percent of the Alliance soldiers she worked with had similar, if not worse scars. But the scar was not just ugly in Maria's eyes, it reminded her of what came after it, the war and all the killing she did in the name of the Reds. The scar was ugly for an entirely different reason.

"The Brotherhood planned to send our bodies as a message to the Reds: they were coming. Lucky for me, somewhere in the middle of my face being beaten in, one of the girls had escaped and gone for help. Orlando and about ten others had come pouring into the ally. I vaguely remember the sounds of gun fire and light flashing around the place. I'm not sure how I got back to the warehouse, but I woke up to the sound of arguing." Maria gave a short laugh at the memory, "Anita had the type of shrill screams that could wake the dead."

"The woman who came for you at the orphanage. She was with your district leader, yes." Thane wasn't really questioning her, only confirming what his perfect memory had brought up when the woman's name was mentioned.

"Yes she was. I knew the minute I saw her that she would be a bitch," Maria grumbled with irritation.

"I take it you did not get along," Thane commented, lifting a curious brow. He wished for her to elaborate on her obvious dislike for the woman.

"Not even for a minute. I think the only reason she never killed me was because Orlando had such a close watch on me." Maria's features darkened as she continued with her next statement, "Alyssa had a few "accidents" during our first couple of years with the gang and Michael was almost killed on what should have been a harmless run for the bitch. I would bet my life that she was trying to hurt me through them. Once I voiced my thoughts to Orlando, well the accidents stopped right away."

Thane's relaxed expression took on a tenser look, his brows knitting together as his black eyes turned a shade darker, "Your relationship with your leader seemed like a close one."

Maria smirked at the tension in his voice. It was ridiculous to think Thane was completely jealous of a relationship she had more than fifteen years ago, but he did feel a certain way about the memory. "We were." Maria answered simply. "He was like a guardian, always watching over me, always teaching me, and guiding me in becoming something greater to the Reds. He had picked me out especially for what I would become, and Anita hated it." Maria smirked darkly, still able to take enjoyment in anything that woman had hated.

"I have a feeling this man felt more than a teacher - student relationship with you Siha. Or perhaps that is the way it began, but it is not how it remained? Am I correct?" Thane questioned, seeming less irritated with the idea and more curious now.

"You are. I . . . I had grown to develop greater feelings for him as I got older. Fifteen, sixteen years old was about the time the hormones started kicking in and Orlando was about twenty-one at this time, a full grown man who had taught me everything I knew about the gang, he looked out for me and the two people I cared about most. He had a kind heart believe it or not; violence was his last resort, though he wouldn't hesitate to kill an enemy either. But he could pretty much talk his way out of anything. He would always work twice as hard to keep innocent people out of the fighting." Maria laughed lightly at her next memory, "He even volunteered at homeless shelters and during holidays would give presents to charity organizations." Maria had a fond smile on her face as she continued, "It was logical that a teenage girl would fall for the bad boy with a sensitive soul." Her eyes flickered up to Thane's as her smile grew, "Looks like I haven't outgrown that yet."

Thane gave her a crooked smile and inclined his head in slight bow. "Did he feel the same?" Thane asked in his deep, vibrating voice.

Maria realized this was the first time they had talked about anyone she had loved in her past, besides Kadian, but that had been more of a discussion on whether or not Thane was going to jail for assault. Thane had spoken about Irikah many times before, but now it was Maria's turn to share about her first love. "He . . . I guess you could say yes, but he tried to fight it, though after that night, we both knew our feelings for one another."

* * *

Maria moaned as she opened her eyes, her right arm was completely numb; she had to feel with her left that it was still attached to her body. Her shaky hand glided over the smooth glass surface of an arm brace, her head turned and through her narrowed eyes she could see the bright light of the blue holo interface around the metal and glass brace. The brace was much like the one the medics had fitted Michael's arm in when they had first came to the Red's, only hers was covering half her upper arm, from her elbow to mid bicep. The entire incased flesh was smeared with green gel, medi gel Maria's mind registered, meaning she was injured. The memories of that night were coming back to her slowly. The ambush, the beating, the fire, everything came back and hit her like a concussive shot to the chest.

Maria tried to sit up in bed, her eyes started taking in the room around her and the soft sheets of the bed she was in, they were too soft to be any bed in the med room. Her head turned right from left, the red and black décor of the large room was familiar, the swords and guns covering the right wall, and the open door leading to the bathroom told her where she was; this was Orlando's room. Maria had only been in Orlando's rooms twice and it was only for a brief moment.

Maria managed to bring herself up on her hands, ignoring the protests her body gave to the action. She noticed that her vest was completely opened, exposing her black bra clad breasts, upon further inspection however she realized that the majority of her torso was wrapped in badges and neural sensors were placed in a line down her stomach, meaning something wasn't working right on the inside or needed to be monitored closely. She hoped whatever it was it wasn't permanent or too severe.

All of a sudden, as if the volume on her ears had been turned up, shouts and yelling coming from the bathroom could be heard. Maria realized the arguing must have been going on the whole time, but she had just noticed that moment. Two voices, male and female, were coming from the bathroom and it only took half a second for Maria to realize who the owners of the voices belonged to. Anita and Orlando. Maria blanched at the realization that Anita was the one Orlando was arguing with. The fact that she was virtually topless with her open vest, laying on top of the meanest general's lover's bed was not lost on her and the only thing Maria could think of doing was getting the hell out of there before the two them came out. The question of why she was there in the first place and not in the med room, never crossed her mind. Her only wish was to avoid Anita's wrath at any cost and that meant getting her ass out of that room as fast as she could.

Maria's jaw set in a stubborn lock as she forced her legs to slide to the side. Luckily her legs didn't seem too badly damaged so she would be able to walk from the room no problem. Once she had her legs swung over the side of the large bed she had to figure out how she was going to push herself off, her right arm was completely numb and lifeless, Orlando must have mixed a muscle relaxer with the medi-gel and her stomach muscles screamed in pain at the slightest bit of movement.

"GET OUT! GET OUT NOW BEFORE I MAKE YOU LEAVE MYSELF!" Maria's eyes grew five times their normal size at the roar Orlando had just directed at Anita. She was pretty sure the room had just shook at how loud he had just yelled at her. No doubt the rest of the warehouse had heard that.

"YOU BETTER FIGURE OUT WHO EXACTLY YOU WANT HERE ORLANDO. ME, OR THAT CHILD OUT THERE!" Anita retaliated in her own shrill voice.

"THIS IS NOT A COMPITION ANITA BUT IF IT WAS, I WOULD GLADDLY CHOOSE MARIA OVER YOUR COLD, EVIL, TWISTED ASS ANY DAY!" Orlando's voice grew closer, as if he was walking towards the bedroom now. Maria's plans of escape were forgotten, her body was rooted to the bed and her eyes were glued to the bathroom door.

"I HAVE BEEN WITH YOU SINCE YOU JOINED. I MADE YOU WHAT YOU ARE TODAY. I AM THE REASON FOR YOUR SUCSSES AND NOW YOU ARE GOING TO DUMP ME ON THE SIDE FOR A LITTLE CUNT FIVE YEARS YOUNGER THEN YOURSELF?" Anita screamed, her shadow showed her hands waving in the air.

A crash was heard in the bathroom and a yelp from Anita was mixed with the loud sound. Maria's eyes caught the pair's reflection in the mirror, Orlando looked livid as he held Anita by the neck against the bathroom wall, his face an inch away from her own. Maria had to strain her hearing in order to listen to what he said next, his words were a low menacing growl, "Don't you ever call her that again or I'll strangle the life out of you. You only bring misery and hate into this world. You think I don't know that you have been the one killing all the Brotherhood members these past few months, that you are the one disrespecting them and causing this tension between them and us. You think I don't know you have been using kids from the neighborhood to run messages, kids who have no business even coming near this gang. You think I don't know about you giving them guns. Those three people last week who were on the news, the little girl and her mom and the laundry mat owner who were killed. Their lives were taken because of you." Orlando's voice cracked at the end, but his eyes remained hard and his mouth set in a deep scowl. "I let everything slide only because of the other attacks on the districts. But those three innocent lives, and the lives of the people mourning them now. That was too far Anita, and now you just disgust me."

Anita sneered at him, "Oh come on Orlando, this is a survival game and some people just aren't going to survive. Who gives a damn if a few people die or a couple kids go on some runs for us. Thanks to me, I expanded our boards by six blocks in only a month. You should be thanking me. We are here to win territory Orlando, not be the neighborhood watch. You better find your inner thug quick, or you might as well walk out into the desert and die with your child whore."

Orlando's head bowed, his hand remaining around Anita's neck. Maria could see his shoulders shaking and realized her own were doing the same, her left hand had the covers in a vice grip as she stared murderously at the reflection of Anita, her face a cold blank expression of indifference. That woman was pure evil.

"Get out, before I kill you." Orlando released his hold on her neck, but his head remained staring at the ground.

"Orlando you can't be serious, after everything we have been through, everything we have shared." Anita's voice dropped to a low purr, her arms tried to come around her lover's body.

Orlando's head jerked up so fast, it froze Anita completely. His hands shoved her hard away from him, as if her proximity burned him. As Anita crumbled to the floor in shock, Orlando loomed over her, pointing a finger in her face and held a look of utter disgust on his face, "Bitch, the only thing we shared was cock and pussy and that's it. You never meant anything to me and you never will. Now get the fuck out of here." Orlando punched the wall above where Anita sat, leaving a gaping hole in the plastic.

Anita was stunned for a minute and there was silence between the two, Orlando's harsh breaths were the only thing that could be heard as he leaned against the metal sink, trying to calm his temper. But slowly, laughter started to fill both Maria's and Orlando's ears and the man turned to the crazed looking woman on his bathroom floor.

Anita looked up at him with a sinister smile and a psycho look to her eyes as she spoke to him, her laughter coming in between her words, "I bet, you wouldn't mind sharing your dick with Maria." Orlando's hands clenched at his side, his teeth grinded against each other as Anita kept going, "She is what, sixteen? Seventeen? A woman now. But your Twenty-one, I guess that makes you a pedophile right? Huh, well I hope your tiny cock can satisfy her, though she must be virgin. I wonder if she will let you pop her . . ." The woman's next words were cut off. An enraged scream had ripped through Orlando's throat as he wrapped his hands around the woman's neck and yanked her from the floor, pulling her towards the door as he stomped across the bathroom tiles.

Maria watched both of them come through the bathroom and Orlando now had Anita by the hair and the neck, half lifting her, half dragging her across the room to his bedroom door. Anita screamed the best she could and clawed at Orlando's massive hand around her to no avail. The district leader kicked the red holo pad to green and the doors flew open and Orlando wasted no time in throwing Anita violently into the metal banister in front of his rooms. The hysteric woman almost toppled over, which would have caused her to drop to the unforgiving cement floor below.

"SOMEONE GET HER OUT OF HERE. I DON'T CARE WHERE YOU TAKE HER OR WHAT YOU DO WITH HER, FROM HERE ON SHE IS NO LONG YOUR GENERAL OR A MEMBER OF THE REDS. Send this bitch to the Brotherhood for all I care, maybe she will be a nice plaything for them before they kill her." With that last cruel word, Orlando turned his back on the woman now being dragged down the hall by four Red members, kicking and screaming all the way.

Orlando's door shut behind him, the holo pad turning red as he reentered the room. His angry expression immediately melted away to shock as his eyes landed on the very conscious Maria in his bed.

"Maria." Orlando whispered, not able to say much else.

Maria continued to stare at him, her body still facing the bathroom door in the same upright position, with her feet dangling off the bed. The sixteen year old blinked, before shifting her eyes uncomfortably to the comforter below her.

She could hear Orlando's heavy steps draw closer and through her curtain of hair she could see him kneel down to her level. His large hand lifted her chin to make eye contact with him, his black eyes held warmth and concern in them. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but I'll be fine. How are the others?" Maria questioned, her voice becoming less shy.

Orlando's face grew grim, not a good sign. He dropped his hand from her chin and threaded it through his hair. "Jesus and Mia are dead and Alisha is in the med room with a dislocated arm and a few bruises and scrapes, but I think the worse injuries are psychological. She came into the warehouse screaming at the top of her lungs and only got out the ally you were all at before passing out."

Maria's head lowered in sorrow, two of her friends had been beaten to death and one may never be sane again. "What happens now?"

Orlando's face hardened, "Now we find out if this was a coordinated attack or just an independent group. Either way, it might not matter. Too much tension has been building between the gangs and I can only see one way for this to end."

"Gang war." Maria whispered.

Orlando nodded, his eyes searching Maria's face for any indication on how she felt about the situation.

Maria stared into open space, her face completely emotionless, before turning to Orlando's. "Kill all sons-of-bitches."

Normally Orlando liked to keep as much peace, or some semblance of peace, between the gangs, but two of his members had just been murdered and Maria they had barely been able to save and Alisha was probably scarred for life. Adding this very personal attack to the number of attacks that had been made on the other districts and his own in the last month and even he was ready to shed some blood.

Orlando studied Maria for a few minutes, this would be her first war and she had never killed anyone before. He had taught her how to use a gun of course, and she was one hell of a shot, not to mention quick with a blade, but he couldn't know for sure how she would react when she had the blood of another person on her hands. Fist fights were one thing, but killing someone, taking their life, was something else completely.

"So who will be leading the south group?" Maria questioned.

Anita had been a general for the south side of the district and with her gone, the group had no one to lead them during the fight.

Orlando stared at her for a while, his expression thoughtful and calm, then he spoke, "How much of that argument did you hear?"

"Enough." Maria didn't want to go into detail of what Anita had said, not sure what to think of it herself. The woman had implied Orlando wanted her, in a crude and spiteful way, but obviously she thought Orlando liked her.

"What did you think about all that?" Orlando asked, his eyes bore into her own.

"I don't know what to think. I just know that she was obviously pissed and trying to get a rise out of you." That was the truth, Maria had no clue if any of that was true.

"She is a hateful bitch and don't know why I put up with her all these years. I'm glad to be rid of her." Orlando's mouth twisted in disgust, as if he had a sour taste in his mouth. His expression relaxed as he focused on Maria once more, "She is nothing like you. She has never been warm or kind or caring." Orlando's hand went up to touch the side of her face, the skin there stung but Maria suppressed the urge to wince, fearing he would pull away if she did. His thumb rubbed gently on her skin, sending a pleasant tingling through her entire body. Maria had never been touched like this before, so gently and she had never experienced that strong of a reaction to a guy's touch before. There had been a few boys her age she had experimented with, light kissing and awkward groping but nothing more. Orlando wasn't a boy though and even when he was he had always come off with such cool confidence. Now that Maria thought about it, Orlando and Anita had probably been together even when he was sixteen, he was probably very experienced even at that age. Maria would bet kissing him wouldn't feel awkward or clumsy.

"You have grown up to be beautiful woman, inside and out." Orlando smiled, remembering think those exact words five years ago.

"I don't know about that." Maria turned her head away self-consciously.

Orlando turned her face to his, "You are beautiful Maria and strong and brave and loyal. Everything a man would want." Orlando held her face in his hands, staring into her bright green eyes, what he saw brought him back to reality. She cared about him, deeply.

Orlando let go of Maria quickly, lowering his head as he stood, backing away from the bed. Maria didn't know what happened to cause such a sudden reaction.

"Orlando? What's wrong?" She questioned lightly.

"I . . . Can't do this. You're . . . Your too young and I . . . I'm you're . . ." Orlando had his hands in his hair now, his long legs paced back and forth in front of her.

"Can't do what?" Maria questioned.

"This. This thing here, with you." Orlando stopped his pacing to look at her. Her small, thin body sat on his bed, her black vest opened up revealing her smooth, ample sized breasts, her mocha colored skin looked so soft, her black tattoos made her look sexy in the open top. Orlando growled as he resumed his pacing, turning his head away from her completely developed and desirable body.

Maria's brows knitted in confusion, "What exactly is this thing?"

"You can't honestly be asking that?" Orlando stopped again, questioning her. Her face was completely serious. He had to remember that she was Maria, she didn't go on dates, she didn't throw herself at the boys her age like some of the other girls and she didn't get caught up in stupid romance novels or novellas that all the other females seemed obsessed with. It was possible she could be completely oblivious to the attraction that a guy might have towards her.

Orlando stepped close to her once more, kneeling at her level, "Maria . . . I can't pretended that I only feel a friendship towards you, I know it's wrong, I know I shouldn't but I do actually care about you. Anita wasn't wrong, though what she said was completely wrong, but her suspicion that I do want you was correct."

Maria felt her heart constrict, Orlando liked her.

"Why is it wrong?" Her voice remained calm, though her stomach had butterflies.

"Our age difference, I'm your leader, I'm experienced and you're not. There are many reasons why I should have never developed feelings for you." Orlando answered.

"Wasn't Anita thirty or something? That's a nine year age difference and you two have been fucking since you were my age." Maria stated bluntly.

Orlando's brows lifted at her language, but continued anyways, "Yes, but it's different..."

"It's only viewed differently because I'm a female. But because a full grown woman want's a sixteen year old as her boy toy it's ok?" Maria was starting to get fired up.

"No it's not." Orlando admitted in a solemn tone.

"As for you being my leader, who gives a damn? Technically you were Anita's as well. And as for experience..." Maria paused, her eyes lowered to Orlando's mouth before flicking up to his eyes again, the gesturer wasn't lost on Orlando. "I'm a quick learner."

Orlando swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and his eyes traveled down her front, now very aware of the fact she was half naked.

Orlando shook his head lightly as he spoke, "Maria, no. I . . . I can't." It was obvious he was trying to convince himself more than Maria.

"Orlando, if you don't like me that's fine, but if your only reason is because I'm younger that's pretty stupid." **Yes that will show you're really mature Maria**, her inner voiced chided her. However, she continued anyways, "Who do you know who has looked after me like you have or protected me like you have and who would be willing to piss off Anita just to defend my honor?"

Orlando chuckled lightly, "That's not the only reason." The two smiled jokingly at each other before Orlando's face grew serious and fond, "But I would never let anyone talk about you like that." His hand creased the side of her face as he spoke and her eyes closed as she nuzzled his palm.

Maria's bright green eyes opened after a moment, to fix him with an intense gaze, "I want to be with you Orlando."

Orlando hesitated one more second, trying to do the right thing, but his resolve crumbled and he didn't need any more convincing. His hand shot into her hair and his mouth descended on hers, both of them gave into their desire, and Orlando discarded any objections he might have had before kissing Maria, though the secret of why she had been chosen to remain so close to him still loomed over head.

* * *

"From then on we had a . . . semi-relationship I guess is how you would put it." Maria struggled to find a word that would best describe what her relationship with Orlando had turned into, semi was the best she could come up with.

Thane's eye ridges drew in confusion, "I don't understand. It sounded as if he cared deeply for you. The words he used to describe you and throwing that woman not only from his rooms, but from the gang entirely, mainly because she insulted you, are actions that hint to love. He might not have agreed or liked what she was doing as a general, but he did know about it and still tolerated her presence, yet once she targeted you with her words is when he couldn't take anymore. So why was your relationship not whole?"

"It wasn't because of lack of feelings for either one of us. It was because of the work I did." Maria answered. She was starting to get to the very unpleasant part of her time in the gang. "Orlando had picked me out as the one that he would teach and mold into what the gang leaders wanted me to become. They needed someone to play in the bigger game of the gangs, not someone on the street, but someone who they would use with the more sophisticated and elite of the gangs. There is a whole different side to gang life then what people see in the streets. Business owners, celebrities, multibillionaires who have this social image to uphold, a lot of them have dark secrets. In Mexico, that just meant the majority were part of the gangs or leading them."

Thane nodded in understanding, "As a freelancer some of the people I was hired to kill were gang members. Hiding behind their titles and money, thinking they were safe from the everyday street life. In the end, they died just the same as anyone else." Thane spoke with such apathy, Maria was reminded of when she first met him, his manor seemed so cold and when he spoke about his job it was with detached stoicism.

Thane studied his Siha's face, her eyes had shifted to the ground and held a distant and pained look in them. "Siha?"

Maria lifted her gaze from the floor, her voice was hollow and haunting as she spoke, "They do die all the same way. The same look of fear, shock, anger, betrayal. All the same way."

Thane's brows drew together, his lips parting confusingly. He was disturbed by the way she had said that, her eyes were looking at him but not really seeing him. He wanted to reach out his hand, to shake her from the trance she was caught in, but her words stopped his movement. She continued with her story.

"When I was seventeen I was finally told why I had got such special care, why Orlando worked with me and promoted me so fast. The bosses, the three original Red founders, wanted someone who they could send after their enemies. Two were wealthy business men, the woman was a music producer, and that's the kind of people they wanted to take down. They would give me as much money as I needed for cloths, ID, living arrangements, weapons, passports on the rare chance I needed it. But I was sent where ever they needed me and my job was to get as close as I could to the target, live with them, become their girlfriend, their nanny, their lover, it didn't matter. My job was to get as much information as I could to use against their gangs, then when the time came, I killed them."

Thane sat stunned, not sure if he had heard correctly. Maria had stated everything so simply and quickly that he's mind was still processing it. _They used her as a spy? No more than that, they used her as an assassin. _Thane had been fortunate, most of his targets were "kill from a distance" assignments. It was rare for him to actually adopt a persona to take out his mark. Of course, that didn't mean he hadn't before, but doing so always made him feel dirty in a way, or maybe it was guilt, either way, it was almost impossible to shut out all emotion when your job depended on gaining the utmost trust of your target. You see sides of them you wouldn't normally see. Like Samara would tell them, if she must kill a dangerous fugitive, did she really want to know that he is a devoted father. Yes, killing from a distance was much easier than getting mixed up in personal knowledge.

Thane's memory took him back to Kasumi's mission, back to when he saw Maria leave with Hock to his rooms.

_Green eyes close, seeking a moment of peace to collect herself. Her brows are drawn together in irritation or pain. Her full lips are set in a deep frown, Hock doesn't notice as he leads her to his rooms. Her eyes open, the pain is gone and her mask of calm and focus slips back into place. _

Thane shook his head of the memory, his black eyes blinked as they focused back on Maria's face. They held each other's gaze for a moment, before she nodded her confirmation of his silent question after his quiet retelling of his memory.

Her role back at Hock's mansion, how easily she had gotten him too responded to her and do exactly what she needed him to, that was all due to her service to the Reds. Thane had been in an unusual rage that evening, but he remembered, just before sliding his own blade into Hock's back that Maria had had her own weapon ready. The subtle tilt of her arm and the cocking back of her palm, she had been ready to kill the man.

"How long?" Thane questioned.

"Five years, until I left, until my parents were murdered," Maria was no longer looking at him, her eyes were focused on his once again.

Thane felt the blood in his veins grow cold, his face giving away to fearful shock. He prayed that her parents' death did not happen the way he was imagining.

Maria seemed to catch on to his distress, her lips gave him a sad smile, "No, I'm not the one that killed them. Though, I might as well have."

* * *

Maria whipped the gun of any finger prints she might have left behind, her eyes refused to look at the bloody corpse laying on the bed as she placed the gun in the dead man's limp hand. Maria moved from the bed to the bathroom, her head remained straight as she walked past the mirrors, not wanting to look at herself either. The woman rummaged through the clothes hanging from the closet quickly, pulling on a black pair of tight fitting jeans over her naked lower half, a bra was hurriedly clasped in place before carelessly throwing on a red vest, zipper not even pulled all the way up before Maria left the room.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't help glance at herself in the hanging mirror above the counter. Her light brown eyes stared at the reflection of a stoic, cold looking woman. Her once bright eyes somehow seemed dimmer, and not only because of the holo contacts she wore. For the past year they had appeared, dead. **Just like Kanji in the other room, her mind reminded her. **Her teeth grinded together as her hands gripped the side of the counter, her body leaning heavily onto the granite top. Maria swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat, her eyes burned with unshed tears. This wasn't the first time she had to fight for control after one of her jobs, it had been happening frequently for the past year. In that time she had kill four crime bosses standing in the way of the Reds gaining more power, and two were just personal jobs that one of the Red leaders need her to take care of. Four was a major low for the gang spy, something her leaders were "generous" enough to overlook due to her past work. They could all go fuck themselves for all Maria cared.

The woman pushed off the counter violently, turning away from the mirror in one fluid motion. She walked quickly from the room, not taking the time to look at Kanji's body. She practically ran down the many stairs of the now deceased crime bosses mansion, bobbing and weaving when she needed to avoid the guards or maids, no one had seen her come into the house and no one would see her leave. The cameras were temporarily disabled and would probably be discovered before Kanji's body was. Maria jumped the back walls and dashed through the thicket of trees surrounding the house before meeting the deserted dirt back roads, a man on a bike waited for her.

Maria said nothing as she swung her leg over the red motorcycle, the flat plates beneath hovered a foot off the ground, ready to take off when she was securely on the back.

As she placed her hands on the man shoulders, he turned to her, his helmet covered the top of his face but his small smile showed as he spoke, "You look good as a blond."

"Just drive Orlando, I want to get the hell away from here." Maria responded tiredly, not in the mood for his jokes.

"What happened?" Orlando continued, his mouth set in a firm frown now.

"Nothing. I did the job, no one saw me, now let's go." Maria pushed, her stone faced expression told him she wasn't going to say anything right now.

Orlando turned forward on the bike, ordering her to hold on before speeding off down the road, dust kicking up behind them as they flew far away from the house.

Orlando arrived at Maria's apartment quickly, located in the heart of the city, five blocks down from the warehouse. Orlando barely had time to shut the motorcycle off and unclip his helmet before Maria was rushing up the steps to the building. The gang leader didn't bother with locks for the machine, knowing the four Red members guarding the front wouldn't allow anyone to touch the bike, and if they didn't scare someone off, the giant Aztec jaguar and seven printed on the red bike would.

The tall man walked quickly to keep up with the smaller woman, who was now half way to the elevators. At the last minute, Orlando was forced to break out into a run, leaping sideways into the elevator before the doors shut. The young man gave the woman a smug smirk, but received only a cold look in return. The look did not faze him, he only straitened his red vest over his long sleeve black shirt and waited patiently for the doors to open on the top floor. A short ding let out as they arrived, Orlando nodded to the three Reds on the floor before following after Maria, who entered her penthouse suit wordlessly.

Maria had done well for herself over the years with the Reds, being able to afforded two similar places located around the city. The apartment was spacious and decorated in reds and blacks with white marble flooring. Over the living room wall hung a giant graffiti mural of the Red symbol with the number seven below and behind it was the city and surrounding the edges were different members she had worked with over the years. Orlando located himself, along with Alyssa and Mike quickly, Maria herself was on his right in the painting, always at his side. Michael had created the painting as a gift when she had first bought the apartment, her first home outside the warehouse, and right now she was doing a great job of destroying it.

Maria swung at the vase sitting on top of the kitchen's granite top, smashing it to pieces before working her way to the side wall, which had a cut out housing varies place holders which were all reduced to rubble in a matter of seconds as she knocked them to the floor. The young woman raved and screamed as she turned the apartment upside down, breaking anything she could get her hands on. It didn't end until she tried throwing her four hundred credit dinging table chair through her bullet proof window, only managing to crack the surface.

Orlando watched as she held the chair in her tight grip, breathing hard through clenched teeth, her eyes large as she only stared at the damaged window. He felt now was the right time to intervene.

"Maria." Orlando reached out his hand to place on her arm gently, feeling the tense muscles grow even more tense. He continued anyways, "Maria, put it down and look at me."

"Don't tell me what to do Orlando." Maria bit out viciously, but putting the chair down regardless, however she remained staring at the window.

"I'm trying to help you." Orlando lowered his hand to her scarred bicep, which was hidden by the holo covering, however, the cover could not hide the feeling of raised skin. His other hand came up to her hip, sliding under her vest to rub the smooth skin underneath soothingly.

"You can't help this. No one can help this." Maria's voice was cracking and her head bowed in defeat as her body relaxed into his.

Orlando said nothing more, instead he picked her up, caring her to the bedroom and past the bed to her bathroom. The black marble shone brightly as the lights came to life as he stepped into the room. The tall man kicked the pad that would warm the Jacuzzi bath and activated the jets before setting the women down in the middle of the room. Maria allowed Orlando to undress her wordlessly and held out her arm as he deactivated the holo coverings she had placed on her body. Her tattoo's came into view on her chest, along with the mean looking scar on her arm and the bullet hole above her heart. Orlando lifted her head in his hands and smiled as her green eyes looked up at him, no longer the brown they had been. All that was left was her blond hair, a few taps with his own omini tool and he began to scan strands of her hair from the roots to her ends, blond slowly began to bleed out, appearing to drip from her hair but never meeting the ground, returning her long locks to her natural brown. Orlando came around to stand in front of her, taking in her full view as herself again, from her shapely legs to her flat, toned stomach and flared hips, to the tops of her strong shoulders and stopping at her beautiful face.

Orlando shrugged off his vest and shirt quickly, working the buckle on his slacks as he toed his shoes off at the same time, a hand on his buckle made him stop and look up curiously. Maria had stepped closer to him and replaced his hands with her own, working the belt form its loops as she unzipped the pants slowly, staring up into his almost black eyes as the pants hit the floor. Orlando stepped from his boxers quickly before Maria started to push him gently backwards into the water.

The water was pleasantly warm, heating up his skin immediately before he could completely submerge his body. Maria kept her palm on his chest as they both lowered themselves into the large tub. Orlando was forced to sit as the backs of his knees hit the seat of the Jacuzzi, Maria straddled his lap without any hesitation. Orlando rubbed the outside of her thighs as he looked up into her eyes, the troubled look in them disturbed him more than it should. Whatever she was going through was serious.

"What is going on Maria?" Orlando's deep voice whispered close to her face, his hands cupped her cheeks to move her hair from her face.

Maria let out a heavy breath, her eyes filled with a look of misery as she spoke, "When I was a child I hoped and prayed for a family. One that wanted and loved me. I thought I gained that when I joined the Reds, but looking back now, what have I really joined. What are we a part of Orlando?"

Orlando's jaw tightened a fraction as Maria fixed him with her piercing green eyes. A look of desperation and disgust stared at him, and he wouldn't be honest with himself if he said he had not felt the same mix of feelings while thinking back on his life with the gang.

The gang leader worked his mouth up and down, but could not find the words to reply to her question. His eyes shifted away from her own as his hands came down from her face, Orlando didn't know what to say or what she wanted him to say.

"We were good people once Orlando." Maria's voice surprised him and in response his eyes shot back up to meet her own. "I knew when I met you, you were not a cruel person, you weren't ruthless, you weren't blood thirsty, you . . ." Maria ducked her head down as she tried to calm herself, having worked herself up as she spoke. Her next words were spoken with a calm ferocity, "You were not someone who belonged in this world."

Orlando remained stone face, but her words affected him deeply. If he was honest with himself, the last three years with the Reds had felt like a nightmare. The leaders had started taking a new direction with the gang, now getting in the drug trade, which caused a lot more violence then they had ever seen before. Now he couldn't walk anywhere in their districts without finding some kid selling coke or that new alien drug, red sand. Even more kids were doing the drugs, all of them he had watched grow up. There was now more open warfare in the streets, gangs shooting at anyone who flew the wrong colors regardless of gang affiliation; lots of innocent people were being killed. The drug trafficking was also causing constant tension between groups. Dealers were being pushed for protection from every gang and fined for selling in districts; it was causing a blood bath.

The Reds were growing on a massive scale quickly and the neighborhoods had to keep up any way they could, doing a lot of things that would have never been allowed years ago. The Reds used to run like the mafia more than a gang, that's why Orlando was able to go along with the lifestyle; it was easy to regulate what everyone did because of the strict codes and guidelines that came with the gangs. Slowly, everything started to spiral out of control and the Reds had to resort to more "dishonorable" tactics; that was about the time the gang war had broken out five years ago. Now there was no respect among district leader or other gangs, no rules in which they went about their business and more innocent people being caught in the middle. No one cared anymore what happened to the neighborhoods and who was being hurt and at twenty seven years old, Orlando was beginning to see the destruction and stupidity of it all.

Maria watched the emotions play through his eyes, his face not moving at all however. She could feel that he knew she was right and that he was becoming as disgusted with their life style as she was.

The women with the bright green eyes pulled away from her lover, causing his eyes to flick towards her, refocusing on her, instead of staring to the side. He watched as she ducked underwater, shutting her eyes against the warm water only to resurface a second later, her smooth skin glistening and dripping water. He continued to watch her as she ran her shampoo through her hair, rinsing and apply conditioner next, the whole time his mind wondered between the present and the past.

That night, when he had kicked Anita out of his rooms and the gang entirely, Maria and his relationship changed forever. They began a relationship unlike anything he had had before. Usually sex would come immediately in any relationship he had had with a women, even when he was young, sex was just something he did because of the pleasure, it didn't mean anything. He never treated any of the women he was with poorly, he had just never wanted more; until Maria. However, she had still been very young when their relationship grew, so sex didn't enter the equation until two years later when she turned eighteen. He had been pleased to find out he was her first and the experience itself had been a whole new experience for him as well. They loved each other's bodies, instead of just taking and he realized how much he had fallen in love with the small girl from the orphanage. He never imagined things would turn out the way they did, and he was thankful for having Maria in his life, but he regretted how it had to happen.

Maria was like an angel who guarded over everyone and he probably would have gotten himself killed already if it wasn't for her. But the deeper she got in the gang the more the sweet, kind and easy going girl from years ago started to change and turn hard and jaded. She would often come back from jobs with this dead look to her that said she did not care or feel anything anymore and not even he could bring her out of it for weeks before she returned to some semblance of normal. He was very much aware of the work she did for the Reds now, having picked her out specially for it, now it seems God was punishing him by having him fall for the women and having to watch as she left him months at a time, losing herself in different world, pretending to be different people and having to do things that made her physically ill in the middle of the night. Orlando knew that one of those things was the sex she sometimes used to get close to a target. Just the idea of another person touching her made his skin crawl and his blood boil, but the advancement of the Reds came before anything. Orlando felt disgust and hate when he thought of the Reds now and what they had done to his life and Maria's. He didn't want to think about it anymore.

Orlando shook his head lightly, clearing the thoughts from his mind, before pushing off his seat and ducking under the water himself, but pulling up alongside the front of Maria, pulling her close to his naked body. Maria looked up at him with her large green eyes, filled with understanding and the same tired and trapped look he imagined his own eyes mirrored. He decided to say nothing, only ducking his head down to place his lips desperately against her own, willing their thoughts and troubles away if only for a moment. Orlando and Maria continued to ignore those thoughts for the rest of the evening, finding comfort in their bed.

"The next morning I wasn't there. I left early to walk through the markets. I always liked walking through the large crowds and past all the booths. Getting lost in it all." Maria stared blindly at the wall, remembering the archaic swap meet feel the slums had. "While I was walking through the crowds I pasted an elderly women's stand, she was selling handmade shell necklaces." Maria's lips broke out in a smile at the memory of how beautiful they were, "She surprisingly only spoke Spanish, not a bit of English. I could barely understand her she spoke so fast and used a more traditional, out dated dialect. But she threw the necklace over my head and gave me a large smile, telling me I had to take it, that my mother would love me in it. You should have seen the shock on my face, I couldn't speak, I only shook my head with my mouth hanging open . . .

Maria could only stare down at the short, dark skinned woman as she fingered the beautiful necklace around her neck. She must have heard the woman wrong, she couldn't know her mother, Maria had no mother, no real family.

Finally Maria was able to form words and speak to the now confused looking woman , "Señora, I think you have me confused with someone else. I never knew my mother; I wasn't born in Mexico City."

The woman shook her head fiercely, insisting that she would know the child of Angela Rivera Shepard anywhere. "I was your mother's nanny and stayed with her until her quinceneta," the woman went on, "You share the same eyes, same face, but you have your father's hair and strong soul." The women spoke firmly, almost as if she was insulted by Maria's attempt to set her straight.

Shepard looked at the necklace in her hand, then past it to the cross around her neck. The padra and nuns at the orphanage had told her that it had been a token of her parents love for her. This did nothing but sadden her as a child, because she could never understand how her parents could both love her and not want her at the same time. Later, that sadness grew to resentment and later, when she was already part of the gang, it grew to pure hate and anger. When she grew older, and past her teenage years, the few times she would briefly think of her parents, she always thought of them as dead and strangers that had never been a part of her life regardless of wanting her or not. She neither hated them, nor loved them. However, she had never been able to bring herself to part with her ruby and gold necklace and had even killed a person for trying to steal it.

Maria's head shot up from staring at her necklace, intending on asking the woman if she knew where she could find her parents, wanting to see for herself who the woman had mistaken her as their child. But the woman had already retreated back into the crowed and back to her booth, already selling some girl another one of her necklaces.

Maria hadn't felt any kind of need or want to find her parents or know anything about them since she lived in the orphanage; until now. She knew where she had to go to get her answers and she would be lucky if she wasn't shot on sight for her troubles.

With renewed purpose, Maria ran to the nearest Red safe house and barrowed a bike and sped off into the desert.

**Please update =)**


	35. What I Always Wanted

**I am so sorry this has taken forever. School and work has gotten in the way, then I have had health problems and then I had to put my dog of 12 years down =( (RIP Luke). Life has been pretty much kicking me around but thanks to your reviews and continued support, and the horrible ending and romances in Mass Effect 3 (Fuck you Brioware!) I have gotten back to writing. **

**I hope you all like this, this is the ending of Maria's back story and I was very adamant about finishing it in a single chapter and not just posting multiple ones like I have been and keep you all waiting some more. So this chapter is very long and I'm sorry but is kind of rushed at least I think so because I intended to do more with it but I really just want to get on with the story. I hope you like it, 36 pages long so please enjoy =)**

"Jesus Christ." Maria whispered to herself as she ducked behind the stone archway leading up to the church.

"I told you all to never come around here again. You think I'm going to let you take anymore of our kids?" A middle aged man stepped down the stone walk way of the church, shouting as he held an old fashioned shot gun in both hands, the barrel trained on the spot Maria had hid behind.

"I haven't come to recruit anyone father. I came to speak to you." Maria shouted, not chancing looking around her hiding place.

"You Reds come here, filling our children's heads with lies and their hearts with hate, only to send them to their death out on the streets. You won't take another step near this sanctuary!" The _padre _stopped in the middle of the walk way, "Now leave the way you came."

Maria only had one shot at this she was sure, so she had to give up her identity quicker then she would have liked.

Maria placed her head back on the cool stone wall as she spoke to the man with the gun behind he, her voice calm and pensive, "Do you remember, eleven years ago, when three children went missing from this orphanage?"

Maria couldn't see the pained look that came across the priest's face at that moment, the memory of awaking to find three of his children gone and to learn later that they had been spotted speaking to Red members; it didn't take a genius to put two and two together. Manuel had no way of knowing if the children had survived the journey through the desert or even their time with the Reds. He never saw what the three grew up to look like or the adults they became, he never got to see his little Maria become a woman.

Maria didn't receive an answer so she took that as a sign to continue, "Do you remember a girl named Maria?"

The father's head shot up at her words, his jaw tense and his voice thick with emotion as he spoke, "What did you say?"

Maria closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, exhaling as she reopened them, preparing herself and calming her nerves as she lifted her hands to her head and stepped out from behind the archway. Maria faced the padre for the first time in eleven years, feeling full force the guilt and shame that she had ignored the majority of her life.

Manuel gripped his gun tighter, lifting it at the same time his eyes fully focused on the woman in front of him. He first registered the black symbol of the Reds tattooed to her chest, peaking out from her red vest. His eyes narrowed in distrust at the mark, but once he finally allowed himself to make eye contact with the young woman, his heart constricted in his chest at the sight of her unmistakable bright green eyes.

_No, _his mind told him. _It can't be. _

The padre lowered his gun, studying the woman's face carefully. Same straight, brown hair he remembered, but longer, down to her waist. Her heart shape face was more angled now, no longer showing the fullness of youth. Her lips were big and her nose remained perfectly straight, just like her father. Her light mocha skin was smooth and her frame was lithe, but still very short. However, the signs of battle and hardship riddled the beautiful woman's body. Manuel's eyes landed on the burn marks on her still raised arm and the stab wound that stood out in between her vest and pants. The scar over her heart was evidently a bullet wound to Manuel's trained eyes and the cut through her lips must have been made many years ago judging by its healed condition. Yes, all the signs were there to see of her activity with the gang, the scars and the tattoos, but the most evident wound she carried could only be seen through her eyes. The deadness to them spoke volumes of her regret, her pain and her desperation.

"Maria?" Manuel questioned in a whisper, his face open to his shock and possible relief, Maria couldn't tell.

The woman nodded her confirmation, lowering her hands to her side. The padre continued to stare in disbelief, the gun limp in his hands. Maria stared back, unsure and vulnerable, not sure what he would do next, what she would do next or if she even believed she deserved his time.

Manuel studied the woman in front of him for a few more seconds, processing the strange turn of event. He knew she must still be with the Reds, and that meant she was dangerous and what she did and who she associated with were dangerous. Manuel was responsible for the wellbeing of everyone in the orphanage and he took it upon himself to protect the community as well. That meant driving off any Red members who came near it. However, he was also a man of God, and it was not his job to lay judgment or turn away those who sought refuge and guidance in the church and Maia had not come under a banner of hostility.

"What have you come here for child?" Manuel's voice was kind and light, but he had not yet fully let his guard down.

"For answers." Maria spoke honestly. She had not come here because of her guilt or to ease her conscious or to reunite with the people who had raised her, though, if given the chance, she would like to. She truly regretted the night she left, though she couldn't say she would take it back, she was who she was because of her experiences and Orlando was in her life because of the gang. That didn't mean she didn't want out.

"Answers to what questions?" The padre asked curiously.

"My parents." Maria spoke firmly.

Manuel lifted a brow in surprise, but nodded in understanding after a moment. The father gave the woman one last calculating look before slinging the gun over his shoulder and motioning for her to follow him.

"Come, I will answer all your questions. There is also something you need to see." Manuel turned his back on the woman, leading her up the stone path and into the church.

Maria's brows creased in confusion, but she followed his lead anyways. When they entered the familiar church everything was as she remembered. Same brick layout with the stone pews, same stain glass windows depicting the different saints around the room, same ancient wood podium at the front where she remembered every Sunday Father Manuel would give his sermon. Maria could almost hear the laughter of all the children who would run through the room from the hallways she knew were at the back and to the right. She could see herself hugging her friend Joshua goodbye or passing out the bread and wine during mass. She had been so young, so innocent, now she had the blood of many on her hands. Who knew that little girl would grow up to be a killer.

"Maria?" The woman jumped at the feeling of the padre's hand on her shoulder, speaking so close to her when she could have sworn he had been a few feet in front of her. Maria hadn't realized she had stopped in the middle of the room as her memories came flooding back to her.

"I'm fine. Let's go." Maria nodded forward, her face resuming a more controlled, stoic expression.

* * *

"You left before we could give this to you. We had all decided when you were a baby to give this to you after your _quincenera_." Manuel informed her as she set down the discolored pages of her parents letter on the desk in front of her. Maria had read and reread the letter at least five times now, her face remaining impassive each time.

After a few more seconds of just staring at the pages, Maria let out the deep breath she had been holding; her elbows on her knees supported her head as she let her face fall into her open hands, her fingers threading through her hair as she closed her eyes. Never before had she felt so torn between emotions. The idea of her parents abandoning her, not wanting her, possibly dead, all of those she could handle, but the idea of them loving her and actually wanting her in their lives completely through her life upside down. Everything she had thought she had known about herself was a lie. She had been wanted, worried about, prayed for . . . loved. Her very name had meaning to her now, Maria Angela Alejandra Rivera Shepard. She had only ever been given her first name, only being told or addressed by her last name a handful of times in her life; no one in the gang, not even Orlando knew her last name. She had always gone by Maria, nothing else. No origin, no connection to anyone, just plain Maria. Now she learned that not only did she have parents, legally she also held the name of her father and mother and was named after her father's mother, Maria, and her mother, Angela, and her mother's mother, Alejandra. _Rich family history, _she had thought to herself as her eyes had scanned the hand drawn family tree that her father had made for her on one of the pages of the letter. Most of her extended family were dead, accept for a few cousins, uncles and aunts spread over the family line. It was a bitter amusement to learn that she had such a large family, knowing most of the people in her life could count their family members on only one hand, and here she had over twenty-five laid out on a piece of paper.

Her eyes burned behind closed lids as she recalled the pictures that had been sealed with the letter. One of her mother holding her in a bundle after giving birth, she assumed, judging by the disheveled and tired look she had been giving the camera while hooked up to a heart monitor. The next was a photo of her father holding her, gloves and clean hospital gown covered his body as he looked down at the new born baby. The third was one of her mother feeding her as she sat on a mattress on a dirt floor inside what she would bet was a single room home, maybe two if they were lucky. The forth was of her father and her again, the tall man holding her to the sky, a large grin on his face as he played with the smiling baby in the air. The last was a shot of only her parents, a clear view of what they looked like revealed how much she resembled the couple. Maria was not surprised now by the woman's reaction in the market, her mother and her looked almost identical, however the woman's slightly smaller lips and lightly hooked nose did not match her daughters fuller lips and perfectly straight nose that she had inherited from her father. Her dark brown locks of hair matched her mother's as well, but Maria's stick straight strands derived again from her father. The woman's height and build were similar to her daughters, though Maria possessed more of a hardened athletes body. She certainly had not inherited any of her father's height, the man towered over his smaller wife in the photo, his light brown eyes held a strength in them that could even be seen in a photo. Her mother's florescent green ones held a kindness in them that seemed natural with the woman's warm smile. The photos had been the final thing to drive home how lost Maria was, not knowing what to feel or what she even believed anymore.

The box that the padre had given to her upon entering his back office had been filled to the brim with random items that her parents had left her with. Toys, handmade clothes, photos, birth certificate, an old children's story book, an old tiara that had been handed down from mother to daughter in her family, given on the girls fifteenth birthday and a few Native American artifacts from her father's side, including a feathered hair decoration and buckskin dress. Maria had obviously known about her Mexican heritage, but never once had anyone told her or even speculated that she might be part of any other culture. The richness of her new identity was over whelming after so money years of only relating to one thing and one cause, the Reds.

Maria lifted her head from her hands and turned her attention on the holy man in front of her, finally mustering up the courage to ask the one question that burned inside her the most, "Are they still alive?"

Manuel studied the young woman's face, the tortures look in her bright green eyes pained him deeply and his voice betrayed the sympathy he felt towards the woman as he spoke, "Yes _mijita._" Manuel took a second to mull over his next words before deciding to share them with Maria, "They came looking for you. Came _for you _a few years ago."

Maria's eyes, which had been staring down at the wood desk in front of her briefly, shot back up in wide eyed shock at this news. "Looking for me! But how? When? Why . . . What did they want?"

Maria had read through the letter they left and remembered a part where they had promised to come back for her, when they could provide for her and raise her somewhere that she wouldn't be hurt and could have a better life then what they were living then. It had been a nice thought, but she hadn't really believed they would come, not even blaming them if they didn't, but to hear that they actually had caused her world view to crumble just a bit more.

"About seven years ago. You had already been gone for four years. The looks on their faces when I had to tell them the news, it broke my heart, theirs too." Manuel's face fell as he recalled the moment. The man gave out a shot laugh at his next words however, "Your father hit me."

Maria's eyes grew wide in shock, not able to imagine someone getting so angry that they would hit a priest.

"He apologized of course, but I understood where his anger came from, and the worry. I knew your parents when they were little kids and they trusted me to look after you, and I failed. I would have been angry too." Manuel ended, his head hung low.

Maria's voice was thick with emotion as she spoke, but her expression was hard and firm, "No you didn't fail _padre. _I failed you, failed everyone here, failed my parents." Manuel looked into her eyes as she continued, "I chose to leave and knew what I was doing. I thought that - going with them would make us a family. That's all I wanted. Now I know it was all a lie. There is no family, just hate, death, pain." Maria shook her head as she stood, pacing slowly in front of the desk as Manuel watched her, her arms folded in front of her chest. "What made them come after so many years?" Maria spoke again after a moment of silence, her body stopping again and facing Manuel.

"You are their daughter Maria, nothing in the world mattered more then you, you must understand this." Manuel stood as well as he spoke.

"Then why not raise me. I know where they lived was bad, but living with no parents! Not thinking anyone wants you, that you're not good enough! Why did they decide to come!" Maria's voice had risen, her arms gesturing wide as she ranted, her frustration and confusion over flowing now.

"I wanted you! I loved you! Why was that not enough?" Manuel yelled back, his own grief and frustration over her departure and sudden reappearance poring over as well.

Maria's face relaxed, her mouth open, but no words came through as she stared at him stunned. She knew that Manuel had cared for her, for all of them, but the pain and fire in his eyes when he had shouted at her had taken her aback.

Slowly, she was able to form words again, her voice gentle and quite, "I'm sorry. It should have been. I just didn't realize what I had then. I was stupid and selfish and I'm sorry."

Manuel held up a hand, nodding in understanding, "You were a child and I should not have thrown that back in your face, I apologies. I just . . . I loved you like the daughter I never had Maria. I think of all the children here as my children and love them, but you . . . you were special to me. When Michael, Alyssa and you left it broke all our hearts, but I regretted not being able to see you grow up." Tears began to roll down the older man's cheeks as he pantomimed holding a baby, "I remember when I found you. No bigger than a loaf of bread. You were sleeping, so small in my arms. Then you opened your eyes and they were this bright green, I knew immediately who you were and from then on you stole my heart. The first child I have had from infancy." Manuel gave her a soppy smile as his tears dried on his skin. Never in her life had Maria been looked at the way he was looking at her now; the man she would always consider her father no matter what.

Maria's jaw shook as she spoke, trying to hold back her own tears that shinned in her eyes, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I should have never left. I should have stayed. My life has been nothing but killing and lies. The things I have done . . . I can never be forgiven." Maria's empty eyes stared straight ahead, lost in her own horrible memories.

Manuel walked to her side, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, startling the girl to attention, "Do not ever think you are not worthy of forgiveness. Only god can judge you _mija _and he will always forgive those who truly seek it."

Maria wasn't sure if she believed that, but it was nice to hope. She gave the man a small smile before speaking again, "So can you tell me exactly why they came? Were . . . were they going to . . ." Maria faltered as searched for the right word to use, "claim me or something?"

"They wanted to take you home yes. They finally worked their way out of the slums and bought a home in Puebla. Your brother was six at the time when they brought him with them and your sister was two. " Manuel informed her.

Maria's eyes grew wide once again in shock, "I have siblings?"

"Three." Manuel corrected.

"Three! So you saw them again?" Maria questioned.

"Yes, they came many times over the years. After four years, we all lost hope that you would return, but your mother still prayed." The holy man explained.

Maria hung her head, completely disappointed in the choices she had made and mourned the life she could have had.

"So I have siblings, the oldest would be thirteen and the second . . . nine. What about the other?" Maria questioned

"Gabriel is two and your other brother is named Emilio and your sister Latika." Manuel listed.

Maria nodded, her brain moving a mile a minute before deciding on her next move, "You said they moved to Pueblo?" Manuel nodded. "What is their address?"

* * *

"Maria, where have you been?" Michael asked, jumping over the back of the couch he had been sitting on as his long time friend came barreling across the warehouse.

Everyone stared at their fellow gang member, some trying to say hi, but all being ignored as she made a beeline for the stairs; Michael following closely behind her.

"Maria? Maria, will you slow down and talk to me? Where have you been? Hold on a second?" Michael ordered, trying to get her to stop, finally reaching her before she turned the corner. He grasped her arm firmly as he turned her around to face him, the woman's eyes finally registering his presence.

"I was out, what does it matter. I need to get something, so just let me go." Maria tried to pull away, but Michael wasn't giving up.

"You were gone for two days with no word. Orlando has been searching everywhere for you. No one has seen you at any of your houses. What happened? Where were you?" Michael was pushy when it came to Maria, never holding back because he knew he could with the woman.

Before a Maria could responded, another voice sounded behind her, "Maria! Thank god. Where have you been?" Alyssa walked quickly towards them from the other end of the hall, reaching out a hand of her own to place on the woman's shoulder; relief evident in her eyes.

Maria looked between the two as she spoke, "What is wrong with you two? I was only gone for a couple of days? Why do you look like you thought I was dead?" She asked uncertainly.

"The last we heard you were still trying to take out Kanji. When Orlando came through here freaking out and not telling anyone anything, we suspected the worse. We have half the district looking for you." Michael informed her.

"Shit." Maria shook her head before returning her attention to her friends, "I'm fine ok. Orlando picked me up from Kanji's mansion two days ago, the guys dead. I just needed to get away for a bit and now I need to go do something so can you please let go."

"You're not telling us everything Maria." Alyssa challenged, looking down on the shorter woman with concern but determination.

Maria made a quick decision, her eyes shifting back and forth down the hallways before speaking, "Follow me."

Maria led them to her old rooms, typing in the pass code before entering the untouched room. The woman froze upon entering and finding someone sitting on the bed, data pad in hand.

"Maria?" Orlando spoke in shock, discarding the data pad on the bed and practically running to her, placing his hands on her shoulders as he inspected her for any injuries.

"Orlando, what are you doing in here?" Maria questioned, hearing the door close and lock behind her as Michael and Alyssa entered.

"What am I doing here? Where have you been? You just up and left without a word? You want to know how dangerous it is for you to be traveling by yourself, without anyone knowing where you are?" Orlando berated her.

"Orlando, I'm a fucking assassin for one of the most powerful gangs in Mexico. Do you really think traveling by myself is my greatest worry?" Maria gave him a look that shut any response he might have had down.

"Where have you been?" Orlando's deep voice repeated in a more controlled tone.

Maria's eyes shifted back and forth, her hand coming up to run through her hair as she thought through all that she had learned and all that had changed. Orlando and her had already admitted to each other their disgust for the gangs recent actions and they both wanted out; however unlikely that was. Maria's eyes turned on her two longest friends, wondering if she could really trust them with this information; friends or not they were still loyal gang members and had built their whole world around devotion to the Reds.

"I . . . I went to the orphanage two days ago." Maria finally got out, everyone's eyes widening in surprise at the news.

"What? Why would you do that? How did you do that? The padre hates the Reds." Michael retorted.

"He was willing to speak with me once I told him who I was. He . . . asked about you two." Maria watched her friend's eyes shift to the ground guiltily; it was reassuring to see that they might possibly feel the same as she did. "He also told me about my parents." Everyone's eyes were back on her, two times larger than their normal size do to their shock.

"Parents?" Orlando whispered, recovering from his shock first.

"Yes, parents, and their three kids - my brothers and sister." Maria replied.

"So they abandoned you, so they could raise another family?" Michael responded hotly, his brows knitted in anger and confusion at the calm and thoughtful look that Maria had spoken with.

"There is more to it than that. They regretted the need to give me up, but I honestly think they did the right thing. I might not have survived what they must have gone through." Maria answered, calming her friend.

"You want to explain everything to us then?" Orlando's deep voice spoke at her side, closer than he had been before. His brown eyes bore into her bright green ones with curiosity and an intensity that let her know she had his complete attention and support.

"Sit down and I will explain"

* * *

"So you two really want out?" Michael asked the couple seated across from him. They both nodded in reply.

"How long have you felt this?" Alyssa questioned next to him.

"I don't know about Orlando, but for me; a year or two." Maria leaned her elbows on her knees as her hands cradled her head in exhaustion as she spoke, "After five years of just straight murder, I can't turn a blind eye on what I have become for the Reds and what they have denied me." Maria lifted her head to stare at her two longest friends, "A real life." She finished.

Alyssa glared at the floor as she took in Maria's final words. Slowly her features relaxed as she returned her gaze to the woman in front of her, nodding her agreement before turning her head to the man on her right. Michael switched his gaze between the two ladies before giving a weak nod of his own. Admitting that the one idea that had become his driving force for most of his life was the cause for everything wrong in it was difficult to accept, but he wasn't a foolish kid anymore and had slowly begun to see the same things Maria, Orlando and Alyssa had concerning the gang.

"So, how do we do this?" Michael now looked to their leader, or former leader, whatever he wanted to call himself now.

Orlando uncrossed his legs and leaned forward from his laid back position in his chair, addressing all of them as the three people gave him their full attention, "Well you know just as well as I that there's only one way you leave the Reds, and that's in a box. If we leave, we leave everything and everyone behind here. You two won't have to worry too much, your just street soldiers; no offense" Orlando looked between Michael and Alyssa, who waved off his apology. They knew what they were and how below they were on the chain of command and they didn't mind. Lower rank just meant less responsibility and they both saw what Maria and Orlando had to go through for the gang; neither one of them envied them. "Maria and I will have to go far and hide our tracks carefully. If I know Mario he will have the police looking out for us in the next four cities."

"Would he really send people to kill his own brother?" Alyssa questioned. The gang could be ruthless, but family was important to them and each member was viewed as family of course, but it was easier to understand why other code breakers could be taken out, but to actually kill family was a bit taboo.

Orlando snorted humorlessly, "That son-of-a-bitch is so far high on his throne he can't even see who is family anymore. Once he became one of the main leaders I became an expendable asset."

"And what about you Maria?" Michael asked as he turned his attention to her, "You said you wanted to seek out your family, but Puebla might not be far enough. Hell they might even send people to the church just to see what Father Manuel might know."

"I do want to meet them and I will. I have been a spy and assassin for the Reds for five years, I know how to hide and cover my tracks, don't worry about that. As for Father Manuel, you three are the only ones who know I have been there in the last ten years. They have no reason to suspect me going there." Maria was confident that the Reds wouldn't even think of the old orphanage as an option; if they even remembered where she had come from.

"So we are really doing this then?" Alyssa breathed out, rubbing her hands on her exposed legs nervously.

"I guess we are." Maria looked to Orlando at her side, the man gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before they gave instructions to their younger friends on where to go and who to speak to. They were leaving that night.

* * *

"So we left." Maria spoke simply, her green eyes turning to Thane's.

"I assume your sudden departure earned you some wrath from your leaders?" Thane spoke softly at her side.

"You don't leave the Reds unless your leaving in a box and as their most successful spy and hit woman, my resignation wasn't taken well. They sent out feelers for me and had every cop and police station for fifty miles on the lookout for me and Orlando too. Alyssa and Mike were easier to hide, just sent them to Guatemala where I had some friends, then when it was safe, to California with fake IDs and papers. Orlando and I had to split up, he went to Texas first, then Florida for a time. I stayed in Mexico, headed for Puebla. It took about two months of traveling back and forth all around Mexico and setting up Alyssa and Mike in Cali before I finally felt it was safe enough to head to Puebla and find the address my parents were at." Maria explained. "The night I got in town, I contacted Orlando." Maria gave a soft snort of amusement as she spoke, "He was sitting in Miami on a beach front property, while I was in a dingy motel with the curtains closed. I planned to head up there once I spoke to the family. I was even going to give a shot at playing house with Orlando." Maria's ghost of a smile was both thoughtful and sad as she stared at the ground, remembering back to a time when her whole life would have been different.

"Something went wrong then?" Thane asked lightly, drawing her attention back to him.

Maria nodded her head, "Yeah, I got caught."

"The police?" Thane questioned.

Maria shook her head, "Remember Anita." Thane's face darkened in remembrance, "The bitch was smarter than I gave her credit for. She remembered the orphanage I came from, but thankfully didn't think to question the padre. Thank god. I still get chills when I think about what they would have done to him or the nuns . . . or the children." Maria rubbed her arms, trying to rid it of the goose-bumps that had formed. "Somehow she was able to find information on my parents and instead of tracking me for three weeks, they turned their search to my family. I had been in Puebla for two weeks, trying to work up the courage to meet them." Maria gave out a short laugh, "I even stood outside their house for a half an hour just trying to figure out how I was going to do it, what I would say. Kind of creepy now that I think about it, but I wanted to do it right and be careful. I didn't know how much their kids would know."

"That is considerate." Thane gave her a lopsided grin as he stroked her hair and added, "But yes, kind of creepy."

Maria laughed, a bashful smile spreading across her full lips as she played with the hem of her skirt, "Yeah well, it didn't matter in the end." Maria's voice grew thick with emotion as she continued, "Because a week later they were killed. Their house was burned to the ground with them in it. Bullet holes were found shot in the back of the corpses' heads so they didn't suffer. At least that's what I tell myself, they still could have been beaten. Either way, their deaths were on me, the Reds came after them because of me." Maria's eyes glistened with unshed tears as she stared away from him, trying to block her face with her hair from his view.

Thane scooted closer, gathering her between his open legs as he tilted her head up to meet his gaze, his thumb whipping away an escaped tear as his other hand rubbed soothing circles into her lower back. His lips dropped to her throat as he grazed her cheek with his own, his lips hummed lightly as they sent shockwaves of calm through her body.

Thane's deep voice vibrated through her translator as he spoke, "Their death was not your fault, only the fault of angry street thugs and murders. You have honored their memories by devoting your life to protecting those in need and the lives of their children, your brothers and sister. Without you, where would they be?"

"With their parents," Maria answered stoically, her eyes staring blankly into his chest.

Thane tilted her face so her gaze met his own once more, his brows knitted in determination, he spoke with purpose, "Their deaths were not your fault."

Maria's voice was nothing but a whisper as she responded, her eyes lifeless, sent a chill through his body, "Can you really mean that, when you still blame yourself for Irikah's death?" Her question startled his features into relaxation, his eyes losing the fortitude that had burned in them a moment ago. However, her words continued to pour from her lips in the same haunted whisper as he stared at her, "If I don't blame myself, who will? We must carry the weight of our decisions with us. Right?"

Thane was stunned by his own words being thrown back at him, recited in perfect remembrance as if she had the mind of a drell slipping into solipsism. During their search for Kolyat on the Citadel, after retrieving the information they needed from Mouse, he had recalled the memory of Mouse questioning his lack of holo of Kolyat. Shepard had placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, telling him to not blame himself, the order referring to more than his abandonment of Mouse and his son, but his regrets and sins towards his family in general. Now their positions were switched and he could not come up with anything to say. Luckily, he was saved once again by his Siha as she pushed herself up from his chest and composed herself.

"Thane, I will never stop blaming myself for the death of my parents or orphaning my siblings. But I didn't walk away either, I didn't leave them to their fate and run scared and I have devoted my life to doing some kind of good for this galaxy. I have accepted what I was and what I have become and the choices I have made. My siblings know me and do not blame me and I have accepted that as well. I have moved on with my life and have learned to take joy in it." Her hand came up to caress the side of his cheek, her fingers curling so she could run the backs of them down his sensitive ridges, earning a soft ruble in response. "I like to think you have done the same."

Thane's large black eyes widened slightly as he lifted them form their downwards gaze to meet her bright green affectionate ones. His lips parted a fraction as he released a soft breath, her words literally taking his breath away as they came full circle back on him. _I like to think you have done the same. _Had he done the same? They had found his son and prevented him from turning blindly down a path of sin and also kept him from landing in prison. Kolyat now knew everything about his work and the reason for his mother's death. The boy may not be the warmest and closet person to his father, but he had accepted him back into his life and Thane was over joyed with the simple opportunity to know his son. Thane's eyes refocused back onto Shepard, drinking in her soft human features. Long brown hair framing lightly tanned human skin. Bright green eyes that shone brighter than any gems he could find in the galaxy and soft full lips that warmed his heart with the barest of smiles. All her features were so alien compared to his own, compared to his Irikahs, but he could never imagine being in the arms of anyone else, could not envision a more beautiful person. Irikah would always be beautiful to him and he would always love her, but his very soul belong to the woman he was with now. There was no meaning to life without her, not even to rid it of darkness, because there would never be enough light in his life if she was to parish. To continue his work of trying to make the galaxy brighter before his death would become pointless if he no longer had her with him. Shepard was the reason he now found joy in life again and even beyond what he had ever experienced in his life. He would forever be grateful to her and the Gods for his blessing.

Thane gave the woman in his arms a small smile, speaking softly as he nodded, "I have accepted my past and have found great joy in the present and my future. And it is thanks to you Siha." Thane nuzzled just under her jaw, his chest vibrating lightly as his lips hummed his happiness.

Maria closed her eyes, enjoying the sound and feeling of him relaxing her into a peaceful state. She knew this was it, the only love she would ever have in her life and the image of them coming out of the war with the Reapers, somewhere on a beach or desert, a house of their own and nothing but time for each other brought the best feeling of warmth, happiness and serenity throughout her body.

"I love you Thane Krios." Maria whispered up at him as she pulled away to look into his eyes.

"I will forever be yours and will watch over you until my dying breath Maria Shepard. My Siha." Thane kissed the side of her neck in what Maria had come to know as a drell gesture meaning something beyond a simple kiss.

Maria gave him a wide smile before sitting up properly, figuring him supporting all her weight the way he was must be hurting his back. She cleared her throat before speaking, "So where was I?"

"If you do not wish to continue you do not have to Siha." Thane reassured, sticking to his spot close to her, his legs out stretched on either side of her.

"No, no I'll continue, there is not much left really." Maria waved him off, only having to think for a moment to recall where she had been. "Oh yeah. So their house had been burn to the ground. I'm not sure if that was meant as pay back for me leaving or a way to coax me out, not sure why they chose to burn my parents' house down, they had no reason to believe I had any connection to them. I figured they must have found out I was trying to contact them or Anita just knew I never liked hurting innocent people and the act itself would piss me off and possibly hurt me because they were my parents and they had the life I could have had. No matter what their reasons might have been, it didn't matter and I never found out." Maria gave Thane a steady stare as she spoke, "Because I tracked them down and killed them." Thane stared back, his features schooled into a stoic look, but Maria could see that her story was becoming a little too similar for his likening, but she continued regardless, "The three street thugs had been easy to find, they worked out of the second district and I tracked them back to Mexico City. I didn't even bother getting them alone, just waited until they entered their compound, then I locked the whole place down, trapping them and anyone else inside, probably five or six more members. Then I set the place on fire, watched them all burn from the street while the police and firefighters tried to get in. Not only did I set up chain locks inside and out, but I also used holo tech to lock the doors with my omini tool. The technology was too advanced and it wasn't until I knew everyone would be dead that I released the locks."

Thane had still said nothing, but on the inside he was taken aback by the cruelty that she had unleashed on not only the three people who had committed the act but also those who had nothing to do with it. The part of him that had been trained to kill cleanly and without pain was appalled, but the other side, the side that had known the pain of loss and had not only experienced what she had, but committed the same sins as she had had to smile at her course of action.

Thane spoke finally, reassuring her with his words, "Those people deserved to die. Their actions were crueler then anything you had done and they will never again be able to commit such sins. Either out of joy or as puppets of their leaders. You put a stop to it Siha, regardless of your methods, they will never be able to take the lives of a family again."

"I have done many cruel things in my life Thane. My hands are stained with the blood of many. But you are right, they did deserve to die and I will never be sorry for their deaths." Her look was intense as she spoke and the small scars still left on her face glowed a deep orange. The color dulled as she continued however, "But they were only tools following orders. Anita and Mario were the ones who coordinated the whole thing and they were the once I was after. And damn who ever got in my way."

"I imagine their deaths were similar to their followers?" Thane questioned lightly.

Maria's lips twitched into a brief twisted smile, "Not exactly. I burned three more compounds to the ground before finding Anita. She begged for her life in a high class hotel before I knocked her out. I drove her out to the middle of the desert, just outside my hometown where she had found me all those years before."

* * *

Maria could hear Anita's heavy breathing through the bag over her head. The woman had stopped cry an hour ago after Maria had hit her in the face through the bag for the third time during their trip. The woman was scared, which she should be, Maria had killed the five Red guards that had been in and outside her hotel room with the wrath of god. One gun in each hand and barely even a blink as she took everyone out. Anita had run screaming into the bedroom, a pistol shaking in her hand as she braced her back against the wall facing the door, ready to kill who ever came through it. Maria had kicked the lock in as she came into the room, her mouth set in a frown and her eyes narrowed in a predatory gaze as she turned them on Anita. The younger woman didn't even take a step in before Anita sent off four shots directly at her chest. However, Anita had to look on in horror as she realized that Maria had police issued shields up, the blue glow of them coming down as she sped towards her was barely registered as she squeezed the trigger again, letting off one more shot before Maria's booted foot connected with her face, knocking her out instantly.

Maria had hissed in pain as she holstered her left gun, bringing her free hand to the bullet wound that had left a gash through her right arm. Luckily, the bullet had only grazed her and she would be fine. The woman had quickly picked up the older one and carried her to the back exits out of the hotel and to her truck and sped off into the night after placing a black bag over Anita's head.

Maria came to a stop thirty miles out from her home, placing the truck in park at the top of a dune as she opened her door to leave the truck. Anita's head wiped around franticly as she heard Maria leave the truck.

"Wait! Where are you going?" The woman cried out pathetically. Maria did not answer, not once had she spoken throughout the whole car ride. As Maria came to the passenger side door, wrenching it open and dragging out the former gang leader, she cried out some more, "No please! Maria, don't do this! Don't please!"

"Shut up!" Maria finally yelled, kicking her down to the ground on her knees, the hot sand burned her bare skin.

Maria could hear her whimper in pain or maybe fear, it didn't matter really, so long as she was miserable right now. She would be in pain very soon Maria knew.

"Please Maria, I can tell you who made the call. Who is responsible for your parents' death!" Anita continued to plead and reason.

"Ok who was it then?" Maria questioned in a dead voice.

Anita wasted no time in answering, "Mario. It was Mario. Jasmine and Manny wanted to leave you alone, felt that you had done enough and after Orlando had tried coming to them with going legit they were willing to just let you go. But Mario wanted blood. He said you only leave in a bag and he was going after you and Orlando and your two friends. The others wouldn't help him, but they didn't stop him either. You should be going after them, not me."

"And who told them what orphanage I came from, huh? How did they find out who my parents were? And whose idea was it to kill them, instead of kidnapping them to bait me." Maria walked around to Anita's front, the woman's whole body shook as she spoke.

"Mario did the search on you and found out that your parents lived in Puebla. He was the one that wanted to involve them!" Anita yelled hopelessly.

Maria growled as she ripped off the bag from her head, the sun light blinding the woman as Maria wrenched her head up by her hair, her angry face leaning in close to her blooded and bruised one as she yelled, "But who gave him the leads, told him where to start, what to look for! And who gave the order to burn their house to the fucking ground and kill them!"

Spit and snot dripped down Anita's face as she bawled, her breathing was so erratic she couldn't form a sentence. Maria growled again as she brought her knee into the woman's stomach, earning a chocked crying sob from her bent over frame.

"It was you Anita and I know it. Regardless if it was Mario's money, Mario's cops or Mario's cock in your dried up cunt, you were the one who gave him what he needed. You were the one who sent those men after them and tracked me down, knowing I was going to see the family. You are the one who ordered their death. And you are the one who will be dying today." Maria was in a crazed rage as she went back to the truck, retrieving a pistol from under the seat.

"Maria please, don't. I'm sorry." Anita had finally got back up to a kneeling position, her dirty face staring up at Maria with any hope she had left.

"A pistol, that's all I'm giving you. You want to live so damn bad, walk your ass back to civilization. Hopefully you can aim carefully and shoot any animals that come after you . . . or men who might find you." Maria told her while forcing the pistol into her hand.

"No, no, you can't leave me out here alone. I'll . . . I'll die. I don't even know where I'm at." Anita looked around in despair, the pistol limp in her hand.

"Yep, you will. And you're in the same desert that I had to cross to get to the hell that you all put me through for the last ten years, so that means you have a three day trip. Tell the devil hey when you get back to where the fuck you came from." And just like that Maria walked away, turning her back on the woman.

Anita stared at her retreating back, her eyes narrowing in a rage and her hand tightening over the gun. The gun was a military grade energy pistol, meaning she had about ten shots before the gun over heated and had to cool down again, that was plenty to take down her shields and get a shot at her head. If she could manage it she could take the truck and run over the bitch a hundred times before leaving her out in this hell of a desert like the nothing she was.

Anita turned the pistol on the woman's back and grinned in victory as she pulled the trigger. Suddenly, the empty area was filled with the painful screams of Anita as she dropped the gun, her hand scarred and burned from her finger tips to elbow. The gun had back fired just like Maria had rigged it, burning the woman to the bone.

"Too bad you took that shot now Anita. I was hoping you would do it when you were being attacked by the coyotes, just before they eat your ass" Maria looked over at the crying woman over the top of her truck as she stood on the foot step, "Hell maybe that scream would have been enough to scare them away . . . for a minute." Was her parting words before she entered the truck and drove off, leaving a trail of dirt and a dead woman in her tracks.

* * *

"Mario was next and last on my hit list. And by the time I got to him, he knew I was coming. Funny thing was, it wasn't hard getting to him. He had no guards and no traps, he was just at his home, waiting for me." Maria's brow was crinkled as she spoke, still confused to this day about why he had left himself out there for her.

"Perhaps he knew there was no point in trying to stop you. Choosing to rather face you himself then throw more men at you." Thane offered.

"Perhaps. I'll never know, I didn't care much in asking him." Maria shrugged.

"So what happened? Was it a long fight?" Thane asked.

"Actually no. At this point I was tired and just wanted it to be over. So I told him we were going to play a game." Maria answered simply.

"A game?" Thane questioned puzzled.

"Ever heard of Russian Roulette?" Maria asked.

Thane shook his head no in response, his brows creased with disturbed curiosity.

"Do you know what a revolver is?" Again Thane shook his head. "It is an older gun that has a spinning cylinder that holds the bullets for the gun. I had a six shooter with me that night, so the odds of one of us being shot were higher than when using an eight shooter as time passes by." Thane raised a brow ridge curiously, not understanding the point of the "game". Maria pantomimed a gun with her hand, "The point of Russian roulette is to survive by being lucky. The both of us put a single bullet in our guns, and then spun the cylinder before popping it back into place." She gave a flick of her wrist as she spoke, "Then we pointed them at the other." She pointed her "gun" in front of her, "I took the first shot. Click. He survived my first shot. Then he took his first shot. Click. I survived his first shot. Get the picture."

Thane gave her a slow nod, "So this _game, _is this a normal human thing to do, because I have never witnessed it aboard the ship or in my travels?"

Maria gave a humorless laugh, "No, it is not normal and only crazy ass _pendejos _and suicidals play it. I was both that night."

"You wished to die?" Thane questioned softly.

"I wished for everything to be over. No more killing, no more anger, no more loss. I just wanted to be left alone and not be a part of it. If I died that night, then I died, and the world would have been a better place with my death and the people I took with me before I died. If I lived, then I got everyone responsible and I could move on. Do something far away and just disappear." Maria explained, her head hanging low between her legs.

Thane ran his hand down her exposed leg, coaxing her eyes back on his, "I know the feeling." Thane gripped her hand in his own and turned it so her palm cupped his rigged cheek and placed his lips at her wrist, giving it a soft kiss, "Lucky I had a Siha charging through the building to hunt me down.

Maria gave him a grin as she touched her forehead to his own, "Lucky for _me _I was there. I might have ended up with some other drell."

Thane growled playfully before pressing a siring kiss to her lips, her light laughter shacking her body as she tried to return the kiss. Even in the most serious of moments Thane always found a way to make her smile and vise versa.

As Thane pulled away, returning his roaming hands to his knees and away from under her dress, he spoke lightly, "You have yet to finish the last part of your story Siha." Maria raised a brow in a questioning stare, "How did you become responsible and so close to your siblings? And how did you hide your actions from the gang?"

* * *

Maria shrugged on her black vest carefully, the bullet wound that had grazed her two weeks ago was still tender due to her lack of caring for it properly. Now the mark stood out as an angry red scare with clouds of black and green bruising around it. Maria did not look twice at it as she walked to her hotel door and out into the heat.

It had been five days since her assassination of Mario and she had not seen any sign of the Reds or come across any hostel individuals. She remembered what Anita had said about the other leaders choosing to want to leave her alone after she left. She had assumed her current actions over the last two weeks would have changed their minds, but she was beginning to think other wise. _Pity, _she thought to herself, _I could have taken more of those assholes out before they took me. _Now she was at a lose of what to do. Does she finish her job and kill the other two? Or be content with the deaths of the people responsible for her parents death? The Reds were leeches that sucked the life of everyone they came in contact with and spread like a disease, but to take them on herself would be like signing her death warrant; which she wasn't apposed to the idea at that very moment. However, a messages from Father Manuel had caused her to put a hold on her suicidal planes at that moment; the priest wanted to speak to her about her now orphaned siblings.

Maria had made arrangements through some contacts of hers to have the children placed in the care of the padre and signed into the orphanage. She felt secure in knowing that they would at least remain together and be going with people who would take care of them and love them. She assumed Father Manuel wanted to know if the children knew anything about her or how their parents were murdered; she never suspected that he would actually be waiting with them himself when she entered the church.

"Maria." The aged holy man greeted her with open arms as she walked through his office doors, her hand that was removing her shaded glasses halted on its way to her pocket as her green orbs landed on the two children sitting at his desk; both their eyes turned on her.

"¿_Qué hacen aquí_!" Maria whispered fiercely in a panicked voice addressed to the man next to her.

"_Calmarse." _Manuel held up his hands, attempting to sooth her fearful look.

"¿_Por qué los trajo aquí_?" Maria demanded, not understanding why he would trick her into seeing them. Hadn't she messed up their life enough?

Before the man could answer her, the boy spoke out, his thick brows knitted in a look that resembled anger, "_¿Quién es ella?"_

_Shit, _Maria thought to herself. She hadn't realized they could speak Spanish. She hadn't meant to insult them by demanding to know why they were their and why the padre had brought them. Now the boy, Emilio, if her memory served her correct, was staring her down with an unyielding gaze that said he did not like nor did he trust her.

"This is the woman I was telling you about. The one that had you brought here so you would be safe and together." Manuel explained, giving Maria a pointed look telling her to be nice.

"Our sister you mean." Emilio crossed his arms over his surprisingly wide chest; the boy was large for a thirteen year old.

"Yes your sister." Manuel nodded.

Maria stood stunned, her eyes shifting between Emilio and Manuel. _How could he tell them who I am?_

"_Pourquoi avez-vous leur dire qui je suis?" _Maria's French was rusty but she still managed to get her words out clearly as she questioned the padre.

"_Il n'a pas eu à." _The young girl next to Emilio spoke for the first time, her large brown eyes staring innocently up at Maria.

Maria had to close her eyes in frustration at that point, her right hand massaging above her brows as she spoke, "You can speak French too?"

"_Oui." _Emilio spoke as he glared at her.

Maria narrowed her eyes at the boy as she dropped her hand, deciding instead to address them instead of the padre for the remainder of the conversation, "So how did you find out I was your sister if Father Manuel did not tell you himself?"

Before Emilio could get off what Maria was sure would have been a nasty reply, the girl, Latika, spoke in sweet voice, "I saw you. Outside the police window. You were speaking with the officer, I couldn't hear about what. I remembered your face because I had seen you outside our house a few times during the week." Maria turned her eyes to the floor at hearing that, she hadn't realized that the girl had seen her. "I told my mom I had seen her twin outside, but she didn't believe me. When I remembered you looked like a photo we had I went to our cupboard to get it." Latika shifted in her chair as she pulled something out from her jean pocket. The little girl walked over to the woman and reached out a thin arm to hand her the folded picture. Maria took it with a curious look and unfolded it slowly; her own face stared back. Maria had forgotten all about leaving the photo with Manuel when she had come to investigate about her parents, the older man had convinced her to leave it just in case her family came by to visit or ask about her. The photo had been among the few taken of her that you could not tell that she was part of the Reds. She wore a long sleeve black sweater, her long brown hair swept to one shoulder as she gave the camera a genuine smile; the setting sun of the busy city outside her penthouse window acted as a background.

Maria had to swallow down the ball of emotion that caught in her throat at the knowledge that her parents had indeed received the photo, either by inquiring about her or by Manuel sending it to them anyways she did not know. Maria crouched down to Latika's level, which was only four foot five. As she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, "How did you know I was your sister from this photo?"

"My mommy told me." The nine year old answered.

"And what did she do when she saw this photo?" Maria questioned lightly.

"She cried." Emilio startled her by answering, the boy stood from his chair and walked over to place a protective hand on his sister. He was no longer giving Maria a murderous look but he had yet to completely loosen up.

"Why?' Maria practically whispered up at him.

"Because she knew you were safe and healthy. My father cried too and he never cries. They always burnt a candle for you on July 14th for your birthday and my mom always said a prayer for you at church." The boy informed her. It caused the guilt in her to settle in her stomach like a ball of lead.

Maria bowed her head, not able to look the children in the eye anymore, the picture in her hand crumpled as she balled her fist. The woman missed the sad look that came over Latika's face at the destruction of the photo; her mother would hold to her chest for hours some nights and to see it smashed in her sister's hands pulled at her heart.

"Why were you at our house?" Emilio questioned suddenly in a demanding voice, causing her to lift her head slowly.

"I wanted to see you guys." Maria answered lamely.

"Why didn't you introduce yourself then? Why just sneak around?" Emilio's unforgiving stare blazed down at her; for the first time she noticed they shared the same bright green eyes.

"Because I didn't know how. I didn't know what to say or how you all would react. I didn't even know if you two knew me." Maria's voice sounded small to her ears and vulnerable, not it's normal confident tone.

"So you let them continue to think you were out there with the gangs! Possibly dead! Do you have any idea how much pain you caused them!" The boy was yelling at her now and she took it all with no protest, she knew she deserved it and more.

"Emilio!" Father Manuel stepped in, giving the teen a stern look as he matched it with a glare of his own.

"No. He's right." Maria waved Manuel off, to the surprise of her brother. "It is my fault they were hurt by me running away . . . and it's also my fault they are dead now."

Emilio's eyes widened and so did his little sister's beside him, before the boy could think, he did the first thing that came to mind; he tackled the woman to the ground. Maria dropped the crumpled photo of herself as the boy lunged at her, taking her to the ground as he swung wildly. He managed to catch her in the face twice and once in the shoulder before Father Manuel pried him off of her. The boy kicked and screamed the whole way, demanding to know what she had done. A fire blazed in his eyes that matched her own when she was angered.

Maria had made no move to defend herself and she had not yet tried to get up from her position on the floor, her elbow supported her weight as she wiped the blood from her lip with her free hand. She watched as Father Manuel wrestled with the boy to be still, eventually the fight left him as he slumped against the older man, his eyes closed as he collected himself. Maria turned her eyes away from him and to the silent girl in front of her, her big brown eyes just took in her slightly battered face. She seemed to be weighing something in her mind, giving her sister a calm, calculating stare. Finally, she moved, the fallen picture in front her was gently picked up and glanced at before returning to her pocket, then her thin legs and small feet cared her to the fallen woman sprawled out on the floor.

The young girl came down to her level this time as she spoke, "Why do you think you're the reason our parents are dead?"

The use of _our _instead of _mine _had thrown Maria off, not sure if she had meant to include her in the family or she was only referring to her brother and herself. Regardless, the former gang member recovered quickly and answered, "Because the gang I use to be apart of came after your parents in order to hurt me. I put them, all of you, in danger because I left and went to see you."

Latika took in her answer, her small nose scrunching in concentration as her eyes blinked rapidly. Out of the corner of her own eyes, Maria could see Emilio giving her a death glare, his fist balling at his side, but the padre kept a firm hand on the boy to keep him in his place.

After a few moments, Latika seemed to come to a decision and placed a hand on Maria's bent knee, "I don't think mom and dad would blame you for this, and I don't think I can blame you for it either. Our parents wanted you with us and apart of the family. You tried to come back but those other people didn't let you. It's not your fault they came after us, they are the evil ones." Latika bowed her head as she sniffed, tears had escaped her eyes as she spoke and she whipped them away with the back of her hand before continuing, "I'm upset my parents are gone and angry that they were taken away, but that doesn't mean your to blame." Maria was floored by the way the child spoke, a wisdom beyond her years shone through, along with a kindness that Maria had never seen before. She liked to think that was a part of their mother shining through her. "You have had a hard life. Mom and dad never kept what happened to you away from us. We know about them leaving you here, and you running away. They told us you were lost and hopefully one day god would bring you back to us, or at least mommy said god would bring you back, daddy would tell us it was your own two feet that would bring you back." The two kids shared a knowing look and Latika giggled and managed to pull a small smile from her brother. Maria gave a small smile of her own, their father must have been a skeptical man, but obviously he had some faith to speak of, or he wouldn't have wrote down that prayer for her in the letter he left. Latika turned her head back on Maria, whose smile dropped from her lips as she locked eyes with the small girl, "I guess I just want you to know that I don't blame you for this and you shouldn't blame yourself. Mommy and daddy loved you and wanted you in our lives and so I hope you don't leave again, because if that's what they wanted then that's what I want." Latika's small feet shifted back and forth, giving away to her self-consciousness.

Before Maria could answer, the sounds of screaming came from behind the door and a loud knock just after it. Father Manuel moved away from the now relaxed Emilio to open the wood door to be greeted by the sight of Sister Lillian with a screaming two year old clinging to her.

"I'm sorry Father Manuel, but the child won't stop crying, nothing is working." The woman spoke in a rushed and panicked voice, her light blue eyes looked like they had tears in them.

"Calm down Lillian, calm down. Give the boy to me and go take care of the other children." The padre took the still screaming child from the woman who apologized profusely before leaving.

"Maria this is your other brother Gabriel." The holy man introduced over the boys screams. The young toddler's chubby cheeks were bright red as fat droplets of tears rolled down them.

Latika and Emilio rushed over to their baby brother, trying everything to calm him but to no avail. Maria remained sitting on the floor just staring at the scene, at a lose of what to do.

"Don't just sit their. Help us." Latika ordered in a surprisingly bossy tone. The girl had been so sweet that it took Maria off guard to see that she had a tougher side to go with the kindness.

The older woman scrambled to her feet in a hurry, not wanting to piss of the younger girl. Maria tentatively stuck her head over her brothers to see the crying child trying to pull away from their hands as they attempted to entertain and distract him. Maria could see the child's thrashing was taking a toll on Father Manuel's older body so she offered to do the very thing she was dreading.

"Here, give him to me." Maria held her arms out, though her eyes gave the crying child a fearful stare.

Manuel didn't argue, between wrestling down Emilio and now a kicking Gabriel, he was beginning to grow tired. He handed Gabriel to Maria, rubbing his arms as he watched the young woman maneuver the two year old in a more comfortable position the best she could. The baby's legs attempted to kick off from her stomach, his head thrown back as he wailed. As his head extended back, his watery eyes opened to reveal the same light brown as his sister Latika's. As they landed on Maria's face looking down on him, his twisting and kicking suddenly stopped, his eyes transfixed on the green of his sister's own eyes. Maria could only stare back, her eyes large as she did a great impression of a statue, scared that if she moved he would start crying all over again. Her green eyes briefly shifted to the three other people around her, all of them were staring at the young boy as well, their hands stuck in the positions they had had them in while attempting to distract Gabriel.

"Wow, no one could ever get him to stop crying like that, only mom. He usually screams forever, even kicked dad in the face once." Emilio commented, amazed at his younger brother's silence.

The baby blinked up at Maria, slowly his little hand reached up for her face and he placed it between her mouth and nose. Now Maria was holding her breath, trying not to scare Gabriel. They all watched as the baby worked his mouth up and down, light cooing noises coming from it before something akin to a normal word slipped through, "Maaamaa"

Emilio jerked back in shock, drawing Maria's eyes to his sudden movement, "What?" She asked worriedly.

"He thinks your mommy." Latika answered, her full lips trembled a bit as more tears slid down her cheeks. Emilio came over to place an arm around her as his own eyes glistened with unshed tears. Maria looked at the two, her brows knitted in sympathy and her stomach churned with guilt. The kids were strong though, she was sure most children would be inconsolable and probably would have killed her on the spot.

The sudden movement in her arms drew her eyes back on the baby in them, Gabriel was turning so his head was wedged between her chest and arm, his legs bending so he was curled up into a fetal position in her arms. With some light rocking from Maria, the boy was asleep in minutes.

"Well you don't look to bad as a mother." Manuel smiled at her, earning a glare from the woman that said hell no.

"So do you all like it here?" Maria questioned lightly, looking between the teen and nine year old.

The two children looked between each other and shrugged, nodding as they spoke, "Yes."

"Father Manuel has been apart of the family our whole lives, but we have never stayed her before. It's nice I guess, everyone is nice." Emilio answered further.

"That's good." Maria nodded. Her eyes returned to the baby in her arms, her green orbs softened at his sleeping face.

This was the family she had always wanted, but now they were missing their parents and alone in the world. Of course they had Father Manuel but no one that was blood besides each other. Maria felt a sense of responsibility towards them and swore to god right there that she would do what ever she had to in order to protect them. She would love them and provide for them and give them the life she never had and make up for the one she deprive them of.

* * *

"After a few months of awkward getting to know each other and Emilio fighting between ignoring me and trying to kill me, we finally had a semi relationship; and they trusted me. I stayed at the orphanage until I could get my own place and I helped with repairing stuff or helping cook, anything to do so I could stay with the kids. Most of my time was taken up by caring for Gabriel though, he refused to let anyone put him down for a nap or go to sleep unless it was me. And only Latika, Emilio or me could feed him." Maria gave out a fond laugh, "That kid was a terror."

Thane smiled at the look in her eyes and the knowledge that she had indeed known the life of a parent. He had been worried what she would think when he told her of his own son, come to find out she had three kids of her own. She may not be the biological mother, but in Thane's eyes she had raised those kids and loved them most of their lives and she was their mother.

"Latika was much more accepting obviously then Emilio. It's through them I began to peace together what my mother and father must have been like and I'm pretty sure I'm a 50/50 blend of each of them. Emilio is more like my father, strong, proud, confident and a care taker. But he has my mom's soft heart as well, he just wont admit it. Latika is more like mom, a kind heart with an old soul. She is smart and sees the good in people when you can't find it, but she has my dad's strength as well and confidence that comes with one hell of a mouth. Gabriel is a curveball and I'm not sure which way he is going to go yet, but he is sweet but also has a mouth of his own as you can see." Maria jabbed a thumb over at the blank terminal. "Anyways, when I told them I was signing up with the military, they all were scared I was leaving them. This was when I fully realized that Emilio had come to care and depend on me. He was so angry he shouted that I never intended to stay and I was just going to leave them alone just to spite them. Latika and I had been stunned when he locked himself in his room of my house. Latika had been quiet through his ranting and I asked her that she knew that wasn't true, and she did. She wanted to know why I was going and I told her that I thought it would be good for me, to go and help other people safe and educate myself beyond what the Reds taught me. I also told her I thought it was the only thing I would be good at. I also needed the money and the benefits of a solider would allow me to put them through school and college. She understood why I wanted to go and it took a day of fighting with Emilio for him to come out of his room and talk to me. After I explained why I wanted to go he just looked at me defeated and spoke in this soft voice that he didn't want to lose another family member. That was the first time he had hugged me, after eight months together he broke down in my arms and cried over everything he needed to." Maria closed her eyes against the memory, remembering how bad she felt over the situation but knew she need to go. Thane continued to run his hands through her soft hair like he had been through her entire story. "Gabriel was three already and beginning to speak better and he would finally allow Father Manuel to put him to bed so I figured they could handle him until I could see him on weekends. The Alliance base was only the next city over and after five months I was able to have the kids stay on base with me in the homes. They would switch between the orphanage and base and it wasn't until Gabriel was six that I accepted my first post in space."

"How did they feel about that?" Thane questioned behind her.

"They thought it was cool, though Gabriel was sad I was going so far, but I video chatted with them everyday and read to Gabriel every night. It was hard but I was making good money and doing something I loved." Maria explained.

Suddenly, Thane had something occur to him, "Siha, if you were away. What was to keep them from being found out by the Reds?"

"Oh once I had them transferred all together to Father Manuel's orphanage, I arranged for their last names to be changed and birth records to be switched and the originals transferred to me only. Everything was erased making them untraceable. If you look at their records now Latika is Latika Rivera and Gabriel is also Rivera, Emilio is the only one who switched his name back to Shepard latter on."

"Huh, clever." Thane commented.

"I needed to make sure they weren't going to be hurt." Maria spoke softly.

Thane turned her in his arms and placed a soft kiss to her forehead, "You protected them well Siha and became the mother they needed."

Maria laughed lightly, "I'm not their mom Thane, only their sister. I'm not sure I would be a very good mom really."

Thane's lips turned in a wicked grin as he pushed her slowly to the floor, his hand lifting her dress over her hips as his lips descended on her throat, he spoke in a deep and seductive tone, "We can always find out Siha."

Maria's lips twitched into a smile as she hooked her leg over his own, "I don't think that's possible _mi amor."_

"Doesn't stop me from trying." Thane kissed her exposed thigh, "And trying." He kissed her hip, "And trying." His lips were now on her navel, his tongue dipping into the small divot.

Maria's hips arched off the floor at the contact, her hands pulling at the jacket he wore. Thane pulled up enough to shrug the thing off then made quick work of the buckles and straps of his vest. Maria pushed his hands away as she peeled off the vest herself, revealing the rest of his gleaming green scales and bold black markings. Now it was her own tongue that darted out to taste him, the natural toxins of his scales already causing her vision to cloud and her skin to become more sensitive. Thane's mouth returned to her, nipping at her neck as his hands glided over the exposed curvature of her ass, her dress now bunched up around her waist.

Maria used all her control to pull her mouth away from his wide chest in order to speak, "Thane if we are going ton continue this . . . we need to go somewhere else."

"Why?" Thane only removed his mouth from her shoulder for a second to speak before using his tongue to dip lower to the tops of her breasts.

Maria bit back a moan as she used her hands to wrench his head up from her heated skin, "Because of them." Her head jerked towards the memorial of photos. Thane gave her a puzzled look. "It's believed that the dead come down to be with the living on this day and if that is true I doubt you want to fuck in front of my parents."

Her dirty language shot a pulse of pleasure straight to his groin, however her words stopped him from continuing their actions of stripping each other down. The drell quickly stood from his seated position and grabbed Maria from her hands as he hoisted her up as well, her dress falling back into place. Thane did not wait for Maria to move with him to the door, but instead picked her up over his arm and carried her over to the door.

Before exiting, Thane turned back to the room, bowing while keeping a hand on a squirming Maria, "Excuse us for a moment, we will be right back."

Maria's giggling could be heard down the hall as Thane practically ran down them, carrying her through the drunken party undetected and to their rooms to make good on his promise of trying to impregnate her. The only benefit of knowing that he couldn't was the excuse that he could always keep trying.

**Finally this damn chapter is over and the explanation on Maria's back story is over with. I hope you enjoyed it and I'm sorry if it was rushed here but I really want to get on with the story.**

**Please Review and let me know what you thought because I worked very hard on the chapter, took fricken forever!**

**P.S : Who thinks Thane and Maria are wrong about assuming that they can't have babies? Anyone?**


	36. Reality

**Well this chapter was supposed to be longer, but I have a couple readers freaking out because the lack of update and sadly my writing is going very slow and I apologies for that. I just want to let everyone know I will never give this story or any of my stories up but sometimes real life gets in the way or my ideas come out slowly.**

**Anyways here is a very short but important chapter. Let me know what you think.**

**Also my beta has not looked this chapter over but I'll replace it with the corrected one when she does.**

"But why use my armor Legion, why not something else?" Maria questioned her newest crew member. The geth was possibly her most interesting pickup out of both the Normandy crews.

The synthetic's face plates rose and fell as if he was pondering her question, a very organic action in her opinion. His dual tone voice chimed out with a careful undertone to it, "There was a hole."

"So my broken and damaged armor was the best solution? What about now? I'm sure you could find a more suitable replacement. Why continue to use it?" Maria pressed, being sure to keep her voice light and friendly. She wasn't angry with him, it, whatever she was supposed to call Legion, she was merely curious.

Again the flaps on his head moved up and down rapidly, a mechanical whirl sounded through him as the sound of light clicking fluttered through the room. Maria found his actions and sounds fascinating, they were a guide in helping deduce what he was thinking or "feeling". His colorful computerized voice broke her from her musing as he answered her question, "No data is available." The way he spoke suggested that he was conflicted or possibly lying, but AIs weren't supposed to be able to lie.

Maria took pity on the machine and placed a reassuring hand on his surprisingly warm metal arm, "I wasn't trying to intimidate you Legion, or come off like I was angry. I really just wanted to know."

Legion's head light flickered briefly, his flaps springing upward and remaining erect as he spoke, "Will search through archives to find answers to questions Shepard Commander has asked of us."

Maria took that as a farewell and nodded to the geth as she smiled and left his rooms. The woman traveled to her squad mates different rooms, checking in on everyone before stopping at the Normand's current guest's room.

As the doors of the starboard observation deck swished open, Maria was greeted with the regular sight of Samara seated in the middle of the room, a ball of biotic energy floating in her hands as she calmly meditated; her glowing eyes staring blindly at the empty view of space. In the corner of the now shared space, another asari was shifting through data pads, her head never leaving them even as Maria stepped fully into the room.

"You know a lot has happened today. You might want to get some rest before we hit the Shadow Brokers base." Maria stepped up behind the young asari, placing a hand on the data pad she was currently reading in order to draw her attention.

Liara's whispering voice spoke with a strength and determination that she once lacked three years ago; the galaxy and it's hardships had changed her once innocent friend, "Sleep is the last thing I need now Shepard. I must prepare for what we might find on that base. Hopefully something in these files will give us an edge." Liara pulled the data pad from under Maria's blocking hand, but turned her head towards the Commander, instead of returning to her reading like Maria half expected her to.

Maria's eyes shifted to the meditating Justicar to her left, their talking hadn't seemed to disturber her yet, but the human chose to keep her response to a whisper regardless as she turned her attention back on Liara. "Liara you will do yourself and Feron no good if you deprive yourself of rest. You will be slow and not at full strength and that will only lead to trouble for us. And I bet you haven't even eaten today, have you?"

Liara's bright blue eyes shifted to the side guiltily, confirming the Commander's assumption. Shepard decided then to put a stop to the woman's self-destructive actions of neglecting herself. Maria quickly snatched the data pad from her hand and kicked the leg of her chair to the side, causing the metal to screech against the floor as Liara's body spun around in her seat from the force of the kick. Without a word, Maria grabbed the woman by the hand and hoisted her up, pushing her lightly in the direction of the door.

"Go. Eat, drink and sleep in the crew quarters and I will wake you up when we are ten minutes out." Maria's commanding voice left little room for argument, as did her fluorescent green eyes that pierced Liara with a firm stare.

Regardless of the look, Liara made one more attempt at refusing the Commander, which lead to a quick shout of rapid Spanish that had the asari defeated and caring out her friends orders.

A light chuckle floated through the room as Maria's authoritative glare relaxed as she turned her eyes to the amused Justicar still seated in the middle of the room. "You will make an excellent mother some day Commander."

Maria shook her head at the woman's comment as she came to sit next to her, Samara's biotics were absorbed as she turned her now pale blue eyes on her friend. The two woman talked for sometime before the Commander departed, their conversation ending with Samara's promise of always being there if Maria was ever to call on her again.

Shepard's bare feet lightly padded on the cold metal floor as she made her way to the elevators that brought her slowly to her own room, housing the one person she was most egger to spend time with. As the doors made there customary swish as they opened, Maria's eyes landed on a most pleasing sight. Shepard's lips curved into a grin as she walked fully into the room and down the steps to the exercising drell in front of the bed. Thane was bare from the waist up as he stood on his hands, his chest rising and falling in controlled breaths as he forced his own body to rise and fall to the floor and back up again; his muscular legs straightened perfectly in the air, toes pointed to the ceiling to sustain perfect balance as he performed the complex pushups. His back muscles rippled and pulled tight as he lifted himself, his arms bulged against his weight; he must be lifting well over five hundred pounds due to his dense muscle structure. Maria allowed her eyes to linger on his gleaming scales, light droplets of sweat rolled down them following the lines of his black markings. She could already feel the never failing heat that always crept through her body, to the center of her thighs at the sight of her lover; especial in such a desirable state.

"If you continue to stare Siha, I might not have the mind to keep my balance and continue." Thane spoke as he moved downward, the spikes atop his head grazing the floor before he pulled back up.

"You should have thought of that before you decided to partake in your exercise . . ." Maria moved forward as her words trailed off. Suddenly, she fell forward, catching herself on her own hands in a traditional push up position, allowing her head to draw near to his own, causing him to lift his chin from the floor due to the sudden movement. They were now on eye level as Thane's extended arms held his body still, his blackened green eyes bore into her florescent ones as they held each others gaze. Maria's lips curved as she drew them closer, a breath away from his own as she continued her previous speech, "In my rooms . . . half naked."

A light growl hummed through Thane's closed lips, growing in sound as his eyes darkened with the look of challenge, which Maria's own matched. Maria fought the urge to smile at his primal action, the heat that had already built in her grew at the sound of his growls; she was sure he could smell her arousal by now.

Thane's legs slowly bent at the knees as he placed both one by one on the ground, his body remaining in a crouch with his toes supporting the weight of his legs as his hands remained on the ground firmly planted shoulder width apart. Thane reminded Maria of a predator cat, a large, scaly cat.

His voice was even more gravely as he spoke with a seductive darkness, "_Your _rooms is it? I was under the impression this was _our _room."

"Now whatever gave you that idea?" Maria allowed a taunting smile to grace her lips, trying to distract him while her own knees bent ever so slightly.

"You provoke me Siha? Not very wise." Thane breathed before his powerful legs pushed him towards the already waiting woman.

Maria pushed off her hands at the last minute and rolled back on her bent knees to doge Thane's tackle. The drell had caught himself on his own hands and was now pushing himself back on his feet, squatting low to the ground with his arms out to the side. Maria kicked out a sweeping leg, which he jumped over and attempted to grab at her arm in retaliation, which failed when she feinted to the side. Maria chose to stand erect, her hands coming around her face in anticipation for the impromptu fight that had begun. Thane chuckled darkly as he stood on his own feet, his hands stilled at his side as he watched Maria a few feet from him, waiting. The couple had spared many times before, but they had never used sparing as a form of foreplay in the bedroom before.

_This should be interesting, _Maria thought to herself, before kicking out with a high shin to his head. Thane blocked it with a forearm, which wrapped around her leg holding it close to his body. Maria smirked at the triumphant look on his face as he held her leg, just before it melted away to shock as she jumped up with her other, catching him across his face with her foot.

Thane dropped her leg as her foot connected with the side of his temple. His eyes blurred for a moment as he shook off the blow and turned back on his Siha, who was once again on the ground due to the jumping kick she had been forced to make in order for him to release her leg. Thane noticed how dangerously close her head must have been to hitting the coffee table behind her as she had fallen, because she was now in such close proximity to its edge. Their rooms were not large enough for sparring in, and eventually one of them was going to brake something.

_No matter. This was never intended to last long, _Thane thought to himself, fueled by his desire driven mind.

The drell moved quickly, dropping to his knees to grip her ankle before she had time to scramble to her feet. His right hand managed to grip her tightly, while his other had to react quickly as her left foot made to give him another stunning blow to the head. Now the assassin had both her ankles in his firm grip and with one swift tug he pulled the woman towards him, his kneeled position on his knees allowed for his thighs to meet with the center of her legs; the warmth radiating from between them was not lost on him.

Thane gave another growl as he moved his hands to wrestle with her arms, attempting to pin them with his as his body pined hers to the ground. It was proving difficult with how much Maria was fighting against his restraint; she seemed to be enjoying their game immensely and intended to make him work for his prize. Thane's own reaction to their fighting was more intense then he would have ever guessed, the aching of how hard he had become in his pants was making it difficult to control how rough he was being with her.

Maria managed to wedge her leg between his own and with a flare of her biotics and a turn of her hips that took all her strength, she was able to turn their position and sat atop the surprised drell. Maria could feel the vibration of his continued growling through her shorts; the woman had to bite her lip in order to keep from moaning.

Instead she fixed the man under her with a firm stare as she planted her hands on the center of his chest, "You holding back on me Krios?'

Thane's growls stopped and changed to a low rumble as he spoke, the fire and lust in his eyes dimmed as he spoke seriously, "I do not wish to cause injury Siha. I have always taken care to not use my full strength against you. I have told you before, if I was to lose control completely, I would most likely brake you. Drell are too strong and you awaken desires inside me that threaten my control." Thane's eyes clouded over again with a lustful stare, but he made no move to take the upper hand again.

Maria decide she didn't like him holding back for a couple of reasons. One, she wanted him to find the most enjoyment he could when they had sex, if he was holding back then it was possible she was denying him something that he wouldn't think about not doing with a drell woman. Second, she liked seeing him lose control and the roughness that came with it.

"Thane, I give you permission to not hold back. I want to see you lose yourself to this and let go." Maria leaned forward until her clothed breast were pressed into his naked chest, her breath hot on his lips that itched to kiss her while buried inside her. "Don't think because I'm human I can't take it." Maria lowered her lips to his frills and slid her tongue along them, eliciting a throaty moan from the man beneath her. "Don't think I won't enjoy it." Her pelvis grinded into his own at her last words, every muscle in Thane's body tensed in order to hold him into place as his lips let out a hiss of pleasure, his eyes closing tight trying to quiet the voice in his head that was screaming to take her.

"Maria you do not know what you ask. You don't understand what I could accidentally do to you if I was to lose control." Thane practically groaned as his ridged body remained completely still.

Maria let her own growl erupt from her throat as she stood from his body and on her feet, "Fine then." The woman walked away from him and up the short stairs; her hips swaying gave Thane a phenomenal view of her rounded backside in her shorts as she ascended them.

_Wait that's not what I wanted! Get her back you idiot, _Thane's internal voice screamed at him as he only stared at the Commander from the flat of his back, black eyes lost and panicked.

"I'm going to shower. You have fun out here with your control." Maria tried to not let the smile on her face reflect in her voice as she reached the bathroom door. Instead of trying to convince Thane with her words, the Commander had decided to torture him to get what she wanted. Maria grabbed the end of her tank top and pulled it over her head as she stopped in the open doorway of the bathroom. Thane felt himself reheat at the sight of her mocha skin and bare back. Before entering, Maria turned to give him a view of her naked front as well, Thane almost missed what she said as he stared at her breast, "And your hand." Maria's eyes darted to the very visible tent in his pants, a knowing smirk graced her lips before she disappeared behind the closed door, leaving a sex deprived Thane on the floor.

_What just happened?_ Thane was confused, frustrated and just about ready to snap. Never before had the assassin struggled with his desires and control over his own mind. At the age of ten, after only four years of training Thane had mastered his mind and body well beyond the other children that he had learned beside. It wasn't until nine years later that he would falter when he would first lay eyes on Irikah through the scope of his sniper rifle. He had been consumed by the memory of her and had lost control of his thoughts and actions until he had spoken to her. Slowly, as their relationship developed he again gained his control over himself and when they were married and Kolyat had been born he found himself slipping easily back into his battle sleep while away on assignments. However, his relationship with Maria and the woman herself caused him to almost forget the memory of emptiness that came with being asleep and to never know when he would relinquish control of himself in favor of his curiosities and desires. What was even more freeing was he did not have to be around Maria to be free of his restraint. Thane Krios was a free man, body, mind and soul, something no one, not even his beloved Irikah had been able to accomplish; but the small human Commander had.

_She is human, _Thane thought to himself, bringing himself back to the challenge at hand. His body burned for her and ached to be inside her, while his mind envisioned what pleasures he could heighten by simply giving in to her demands. Thane was a fighter to the core, he was built for strength and battle and his bodies response to their coupling was sometimes more aggressive then he thought he would ever be. Too much force or the tightening of his hand could result in fractured bones if he wasn't careful; but Shepard did say she could handle it. Maria was strong and he had witnessed her take on charging Krogen and vicious creatures head on, so he should be reassured in her strength. But she was still human. Even with Irikah he had always taken care to be gentle and tender, never concerned with his own pleasure but only hers, though of course he had gained much pleasure with his wife. However, he had never once slipped up and lost himself to the moment, never once considered dominance over his wife for fear of hurting even her or possibly displeasing her. He treated Irikah like a delicate flower that might brake if not handled with gentle hands, her kind nature and soft heart compelled him to, but the Commander, she was different.

"A true Siha." Thane whispered to himself.

The drell took a deep breath as he lay on the floor, realizing that he was not dealing with a delicate flower but a hardened solider who was just as dangerous as himself. Not for the first or last time Thane had to question what the woman was doing to him, it seemed each day brought something new learned. Not only was he awoken to the life around him, but he was awoken to himself, learning more about his own wants and desires and encouraged to act upon them.

Thane quickly flipped to his feet with a loud thud, his black green eyes darkening once again as his body over heated with returning thoughts of his Siha. Thane made his way to the door, taking long strides and making more noise then he usually would. The assassin slid open the bathroom door, the sound of the shower running could be heard on the other side. The sight that greeted him however was not the one he had been excepting.

"Three minutes. That took longer then I thought." Maria commented coolly from her spot at the sink beside the door. The woman was leaning against the counter, her arms folded under her naked breast as she gave him an amused smirk.

Thane said nothing as he stepped into the room, past the running water of the shower, and to her casual position at the sink. His large hands moved up her thighs and to her hips, his eyes following their path before moving up her body to her chest and then her eyes. Thane held her gaze, still not speaking a word, only holding her between his body and the sink.

Slowly Thane leaned forward, kissing the base of her throat before pulling away to whisper in her ear, "Remember, you asked for this."

* * *

"Shepard are you sure your ok? You have been limping even before we touched down on the base?" Liara's soft voice questioned more out of curiosity then concern, knowing that Maria was still performing with remarkable skill and precision as she lead them through the now open doors of the base.

"I'm fine." Maria grumbled as she yanked her helmet from her head and collapsed it until it was flat between her hands and placed it in a slot in the center of her back that could be easily reached if she needed it again. The Commander marched forward, making more of an effort to walk properly but the slight miss step in her walk was still evident.

As Shepard passed the assassin on her right, she refused to look at him, which was wise due to the smug smirk he was giving her as he tore off his own leather mask. Thane showed nor felt any remorse for his Siha's current discomfort after their actions before the mission. He had warned her he could hurt her but she didn't want to listen, now she had to deal with the consequences. However, he had been pleasantly surprised at how well she had received him and was reassured in her strength against his own.

"Let's move and find Feron quickly, then we deal with the Shadow Broker." Maria ordered, her jaw clenched tight against the slight throb of pain she felt between her legs as she forced herself to walk normally.

"As you say, _Commander._" Thane practically purred next to her, the smugness leaking through his voice.

Maria narrowed her eyes but did not look at him, choosing to keep them straight ahead. As they rounded the first corner, they were met with their first resistance force. The next twenty minutes was full of gun shots, ducking and diving into cover to get to the holding cell that housed the drell they were looking for. Maria only questioned the rainbow colored information trader for a brief moment, quickly realizing that doing so would only cause him further pain as he screamed from the two jolts of electricity that shocked his body.

With a promise of everyone making it out of the base, Maria lead the group out of the torture room and towards the office of the mysterious man that had caused the young asari at Maria's side so much pain and grief.

"Goddess of Oceans. You're the new Shadow Broker?" An out of breath Feron limped over toward Liara and Shepard, his arm holding his side as he went.

"Well, everyone who has seen him is dead and it would be a shame to waste all of this." Liara opened her arms wide as she gestured to the room, all the terminals beeping and glowing around them was now hers to command.

"I know you will put it to good use, just don't let the power go to your head." Maria gave her friend a smile as she looked across the room for the her fallen drell. Shepard spotted him on his hands and knees, moving the broken parts of the table the yhag had thrown at him. Maria lightly jogged over to him, smile still on her face as she came to his side, kneeling next to him in order to help him up. As Maria turned Thane to face her, her smile turned to a confused frown when she noticed Thane was trembling. The man's breathing was completely erratic and once Maria had him turned to her, the last of Thane's strength seemed to evaporate and his arms would no longer support his weight as he came crashing down to the floor on his back.

Thane let out a struggled breath as his obsidian green eyes landed groggily on Maria's now panicked face, "Si - ha."

"Liara contact the Normandy and get Chakwas down here now!" Maria order to the new Broker behind her, catching the tail end of her jacket running out the door already.

Maria turned back to the hyperventilating drell on the ground, his eyes now tightly shut and his shaken hands above his head trying to clear his air way and get oxygen to his lungs; it didn't seem to be working in the slightest. Shepard had never seen Thane have an attack before, not once had the man so much as coughed during his time on the Normandy, to see him like this now sent a jolt of reality through her system; Thane was in fact dying.

"Thane you need to calm yourself down and you need to breath slowly." Maria kneeled down to his level and attempted to speak calmly, but the tremble in her voice betrayed the panic she was feeling. Thane could only nod, but his breathing only became more struggled as he worked at calming it down. Unfortunately, heavy bouts of coughing began to join the shacking breaths.

Maria quickly snapped off the top of her armor and the arms and threw them to the side before dragging Thane up to lean against her chest; the heavy weight of his body caused her to activate her biotics in order to keep him up. Regardless of the difficulty, Maria forced Thane's arms above his head and tried to show him how he needed to breath by demonstrating herself and letting him feel the rise and fall of her chest against his back for him to mimic.

Heavy foot steps behind her could be heard as people entered the room, Maria ignored them and continued to focus on coaching Thane to breath. A three figured hand on her shoulder finally forced her to turn her head to who ever had entered the room. Liara had retrieved more people then she had thought, Maria was greeted with the sight of Mordin, Chakwas, Garrus and Tali.

"Shepard, you must move in order for us to help him." Mordin spoke lightly to her, realizing the sensitive state she must be in.

Maria paused for a moment before nodding curtly and gently laying Thane down as she moved from out behind him; tears welled up in her eyes as Thane shook violently from the switch in position and the small progress she had thought they had made was undone as the coughing and heaving began all over again. The sight of his dark eyes opening wide and his body twisting on the ground as he stared sightlessly up at her broke her heart and allowed fear to choke the breath from her own lungs.

"We need to get him to the medical bay. Garrus take his upper body, Mordin do you think you can get his legs? Tali you help Shepard." Chakwas began to assign duties to everyone. Maria felt her quarian friend wrap her in her arms as they watched Garrus lift the heavy drell in his arms, and instead of Mordin helping with the man's other half, Feron was the one who stepped up to help the turian carry Thane through the doors. Shepard saw all of this and moved as she was guided behind the team carrying Thane to the ship but none of it fully registered in her mind, she had no control over her feet as she walk and her ears seemed to be turned to mute even though she saw everyone's mouths moving, it all felt like a slow moving nightmare that she could not escape; the only function her brain seemed to be capable of was concern and fear for Thane.

Garrus and Feron were the first through the air lock and into the ship, next was Chackwas, Mordin, then Tali and Shepard bringing up the rear. All the crews eyes were on them, even Zaeed and Jack had come up from the cargo bay to see what was going on; both wore controlled looks but the concern in their eyes were evident as they followed the group. It was decided that Chackwas and the other two men holding Thane would go down first, then Mordin with Shepard and the others. Maria still remained silent and emotionless as the elevator doors closed on the group, then reopened for her group to enter.

"It's going to be ok Shepard. The doctors are going to fix him up and everything will be fine." Maria could barely register the comforting words Tali was trying to give her as the elevator doors closed again.

"He is tough Shepard. Thane's not about to leave you now." Zaeed pitched in, though choosing to let Tali handle the physical comfort.

Jack remained silent, but her sympathetic stare never left her Commander's stiff frame.

"Kepral attack particularly violent. Thane has gone a long while between then. Lung degeneration possibly working faster then expected. Need to run test and collect more samples after calming patient down. Maybe a new medication in order or . . ." Mordin's muttering was abruptly stopped as two hands came at him, slamming him against the wall of the elevator and hoisting him off the ground.

Maria's cold, even stare was paralyzing to everyone in the small space, and her calm voice sent a chill down everyone's spine, "Give him the serum."

Mordin found his voice quicker then his team mates would have expected, "Shepard, have not tested thoroughly enough. Not sure if it will even work, could cause more . . . Ugh." Mordin was silenced again by another slam against the wall, blue flames licked at both the Commander's and his skin as she manhandled him.

"Make it work!" Maria's voice rose as she glared at him. She finally let him drop back down to his feet and pulled him down to her level by the collar of his jacket, "Save him Mordin and cure that fucking disease."

**Let me know what you think.**

**Well I'm completely pissed off! Fanfiction decided to delete my IDGAF story and the reason they gave was because the title summary was not G rated! I had the word fuck in it and it only took them oh two years to figure it out. Thanks a lot fan fiction for deleting all my reviews and even corrections I made to the story. But I guess that really makes you read the fine print of the dumb ass rules and guidelines. So if any of you might have a title summary that can be targeted or not the proper rating for the story hurry up and fix it, I don't want what happened to me happen to your stories. We work hard on our stories and for our reviews and to have them all just taken way is bullshit, they should notify people and give them the chance to change it. FUCK YOU FANFICTION!**


	37. Hope

Maria's metal gloves clanked against the door frame as her feet dragged her through the portal, her head bowed to the ground as she made her way to the bed. The Commander threw herself ungracefully down onto the mattress; the furniture gave a squeak of protest to her added weight. Shepard remained that way for sometime, blindly staring at the floor, elbows on her knees and head in her hands. Her breathing came in quick, deep breaths, as if she was holding something back; and she was. The image of Thane being tossed like a rag doll across the room by the Shadow Broker kept playing in her mind and how after it was all over she had waited to go find him. That whole time that she had spoken to Liara and Feron, only watching as Liara took over as the new Shadow Broker, Thane had been dying behind her and she hadn't seen it. She should have gone to him immediately, or killed the bastard yhag quicker.

Maria felt her teeth clench almost to their braking point as she suddenly shot from the bed. Her breathing became more erratic as her eyes shifted widely around her, barely taking in her room. The mild destruction to it brought memories flooding back to her. The broken legs of her coffee table where Thane had held her legs apart as his lips and teeth ran themselves over her breast, stomach and thighs; everywhere but where she needed him. His hands had crushed the weak metal between them like paper when she had roamed her own lips over his shoulders and neck, biting down into his frills as punishment for teasing her. Bits of cloths and other items were thrown around the room, like the contents of her desk. She remembered how Thane had swept it all away as he slammed her hands down on the surface, kicking her legs apart roughly as he instructed her not to move as she faced the wall away from him. His lips had trailed light kisses down her entire body and stopped to finally tease at her center with his tongue. Every time she would attempt to move, his hands around her thighs would squeeze, hard enough that she now had two dark drell hand prints on either side of her thighs, but it had all added to the pleasure oddly enough. Once he had her on the brink of her climax, he stopped, backing away completely from her. Maria had given out a feral growl and did the first thing that came to mind, she swung at him, her whole body turning as her arm tried to reach him, but all it met was his own vise grip around her wrist. Thane wasted no time in jerking her completely to him and lifting her onto the surface of the desk, the cold metal causing her to arch her breast to his waiting mouth, still wet with her juices. He nipped at the erect flesh there, while freeing himself from the confines of his cotton pants. Again, her legs were spread wide, before he buried himself to the hilt inside her. She remembered hearing the loud bang of the desk repeatedly hitting the wall from the force of his thrust, he had given all he was worth, which resulted in a long dent the size of the side of her desk permanently etched into her wall. Last, and most noticeable had to be the thin crack down the side of her fish tank. Thane had lifted her from the bed, at this point she was just an incoherent mess of moans and whimpering with the occasional "Thane" or "Keep Going". The drell had scooped her around the waist from behind, her hands had slipped from their white knuckle grip on the head board easily, her clouded mind had barely been able to register the gnarled metal that had been next to her own hands, somewhere in her fog covered mind she knew Thane must have crushed the light metal as he thrusted behind. Maria shook her head at the memory, remembering clearly now the sound of the metal twisting and crunching under his powerful grip, the scratches both the bed and table had left were mended easily with medi gel after their escapades.

The crack in the glass of the tank had been made as his hand had come down on it when he himself had reached his peak and spilled himself inside her; the slam of his palm against the glass had been enough to split it. Maria had seen Thane take hits that would leave most immobilized and had even witnessed him take the head off one of the metal combat drones she had purchased for the crew, but she had never thought he would be capable of the kind of power he had unleashed on her room. If it wasn't for her cybernetics, she was she he might have actually broken something of hers, but the Commander was fine and only left with scrapes, bites and bruises and a satisfied memory. However, the satisfaction of that memory was now being tarnished as Maria's mind began to run wild with the possibility that it wasn't just the Shadow Broker that had triggered Thane's attack but the strain she had put on him before they stormed the base.

"It's my fault." Maria's full lips spoke softly, her eyes staring straight in a daze. _I forced him to let go and I took him on the mission even after he must have been exhausted. He should have rested, I should have known . . . _"It's my fault." Maria hung her head at the end, crying out her last thoughts as her fists balled at her side; the tears that she had been holding back spilled freely down her face, hidden by curtains of hair.

"Shepard, are you ok? Do you need me to call anyone up for assistance?" EDI's concerned voice sounded above, the emotion in the AI's voice no longer startling the Commander.

The AI did not receive an answer, only heavy breathing greeted EDI.

"Shepard?" EDI questioned in a softer tone then usual.

"How is he?" Shepard finally spoke in a dead mono tone.

"Thane Krios?" EDI verified.

"How is he?" Shepard repeated, finally lifting her head all the way to the ceiling, her bright green eyes were now rimmed red and dried trails of tears ran down her face.

"I am not sure you are in the right state to -" EDI was cut off suddenly by the angry growl of the Commander.

"This is my ship EDI and I will not be questioned by anyone one on it! When I asking you something you fucking tell me." Maria had taken three steps forward, not taking her eyes of the ceiling and her voice had ripped from her throat in a powerful roar before dying down to a breathless snarl, as if she was having a problem breathing.

EDI ran a scan of the rooms and assessed that the Commander's heart rate was reaching dangerous speeds and through her emergency cameras she could now see that Shepard was visibly shaking and sweating. The woman looked on the verge of collapsing but her anger and sorrow were keeping her from doing what her body needed, and that was rest. EDI made a decision that went against all her programming and beyond what she would have normally done. The AI ignored the Commander and instead "left" the woman in her cabin in order to alert Officer Vakarian on the status of the Commander.

"EDI tell me how he is!" Shepard repeated for the third time to again receive no answer. At this point the demand in the Commander's voice was waning and she had begun to cry once more. With one final push to see if the AI would comply with her wish Shepard lifter head, "Please EDI, tell me how Thane is doing? I need to know." The Commander's voice sounded so small and the fear in it was painfully obvious.

Again, she received no answer. Maria began to feel herself shacking violently and she felt the powerful urge to move and do something, anything. Her legs pushed herself quickly from her kneeled position on the floor; when she had kneeled she had no idea, but now she was on her feet again and her anger was beginning to take control once more. Her breathing was labored as she staggered around her room, turning in circles, trying to focus on something as her vision swam; the welcoming blue glow of her fish tank was like a beacon, calling for her to come closer. Maria marched over to the cool surface of the tank, her eyes following the many fish that had been added to the tank over the couple months since Kolyat had given her the three colorful fish to first call the tank their home. As her eyes wondered, she began to feel a sense of calm washing over her, her still gloved hand reached out to the glass, able to fill the coolness of the tank even through the metal covering her hand. Shepard's lips slowly gave a smile as the three fish her lover's son had gifted to her swam past, winding their way through the others as if playing. Her head turned as she watched them play down the whole length of the tank, her smile only growing wider at the image. As Maria began to feel herself again, she let her head turn forward and allowed it to rest against the cold surface of the tank for a moment, clearing her senses a bit more. She took a deep breath as she let her hand slip from the glass and her eyes, which she had let close, opened, only to be greeted with the sight of the jagged crack in the glass that Thane had made not four hours ago. Just like that, all the calm and control that Shepard had regained, was lost and the anger, fear and hurt all came flooding back with a vengeance. Without thinking, Maria cocked her hand back and punched the glass, the split in it grew larger with the impact. Maria wasn't satisfied, and with a battle cry she threw a left at it, and still the crack grew wider, but the all it did was remind her of Thane, how strong he was and how powerful and yet a bacterial disease was killing him right now. Maria let loose, throwing punch after punch trying to get rid of the crack by braking the glass, even after her own knuckles were bloody and broken she did not stop.

"Maria!" The Commander faintly heard behind her, but not caring to look until the crack was gone.

Garrus had opened the door to find his friend punching fiercely at her fish tank, looking like she was trying to break it and from the looks of it almost succeeding. Garrus rushed down the steps of the room and quickly grabbed the woman around the waist, pulling her from the tank as her left hand weakly taped the dangerous break in the glass.

"Let me go! Let me go god dammit!" Maria pulled and thrashed in his arms, trying to tear his grip from her waist, but he wasn't having it.

"Maria calm down. You need to calm down." Garrus yelled over her screams, struggling to keep her from getting away.

"No I need to get rid of it! It needs to be gone!" She screamed. Maria could see the destroyed glass in front of her and she needed it gone. Garrus had her arms pinned and was trying to drag her away, but she couldn't let the crack stay there, she could still see the original mark Thane left. With one last wild effort, Maria kicked out with both legs, her feet punching clear through the glass before Garrus and her fell backwards to the floor. The floor quickly flooded with water and a few fish from her tank before EDI activated an emergency barrier that patched the hole in the tank.

"What the hell Shepard?" Garrus spit water from his mouth and batted away the dying fish that head been tail wiping him in the face. Maria was laying still in his arms now, covered in water herself. "Spirits be damned! Shepard! Are you ok?" Garrus scrambled to his knees, flipping Maria over to find that she was out cold, a small cut at the top her head bleeding freely. Garrus wasted no time in scooping her up and leaving the room to rush her down to the medbay; the dying fish on the floor flopped helplessly behind them as the surviving few in the tank swam along, three luck blue, red and green fish still played along the length of the tank, oblivious to the turmoil around them.

* * *

"Doctor Chakwas! Mordin! Shepard needs help." Garrus came yelling into the medbay, not caring if he was being a disturbance or not.

Lucky, Mordin was just putting the final bandage over Thane's ribs where a bit of the Broker's desk had cut him. The drell himself was sleeping peacefully, his breathing brought under control. However, a strange purple fluid was being pumped through his chest by a tube sticking from his naked upper body, but other then that, the assassin seemed fine.

"What happened Garrus?" The concerned voice of Doctor Chakwas sounded out from her desk to the turians left. The medic was already standing and striding towards him with a scanner in hand.

"I'm not sure. EDI called me up to Shepard's rooms, said that she needed my help. When I walked in she was trying to beat her fish tank to death. When I pulled her away she struggled to get free like her life depended on braking the glass." Garrus explained as he walked with Chakwas to the bed next to Thane's and laid the Commander on top. The worried turian placed both his clawed hands on the side of Shepard's bed as he watched the doctor take scans of his friend, numbers and lines began to speed across the surface, rising and falling in ways that only the doctor could understand. Garrus decided to continue while Chakwas worked, "She succeeded. Soaked us both and killed a few of her fish before the barrier to her tank came up. She kept screaming something about needing to get rid of it. Do either of you know what that means?" Garrus looked between Chakwas and Mordin, receiving grim shakes of their heads as his answer. Garrus sighed tiredly, looking back down at his friend, worried that her panic attack might have caused long term damage.

"Well all the readings are fine. Her implants are slightly over heated but they are quickly coming back to normal. All we can do now is patch up her wounds and let her rest. I believe that is what she needs most of all. This wave of panic must have been brought on by stress and fear over Thane's condition." Chakwas gave a sad look to the peaceful looking drell that had been suffocating to death not thirty minutes ago.

"If you say so doc." Garrus mumbled, pushing off lightly from Shepard bed, "I'm going to let Tali know what is going on, she would want to be informed." And with one last lingering stare at the beat up Commander, he was gone, leaving the doctors to work on her.

Chakwas went about removing the rest of the Commander's armor as Mordin injected her with a liquid that would insure she would sleep calmly for the next few hours. The next task the two set on was healing the broken bones and ripped flesh in her hands, the glass and force of her punches had ripped them to pieces and not even her cybernetics were able to mend all the damage as quickly due to the extent of the injuries. Her head had stopped bleeding shortly after Garrus had entered, and the cut there was not too deep and the glob of medi gel Mordin applied there took care of it in minutes.

"I think I can take it from here Mordin. Just need to get her into some fresh cloths and clean her up now." Chakwas informed the salarian, receiving a nod in return.

"Will be back to switch out Thane's serum and to check on progress of lung health. Should return within the hour." Mordin left as quickly as he always did, returning to his lab to run more tests on what exactly he had given Thane. He had not been lying to Shepard when he said it was not ready but he was confident it could not hurt the drell and if watched carefully he was convinced he could make it work.

Chakwas dressed the Commander quickly and sponged the dried up sweat, blood and salt water from her skin. With a rest well to the two patience in their beds, Chakwas left the med bay to dinner, taking on the task of informing the crew on the status of the two lovers. Mordin popped into the med bay three times that night, twice to switch out the purple liquid with two different colored ones and the final time to seal off the entry cut he had fed the tube through Thane's chest. The drell had not awaken once during the night and oblivious to what was going on around him or to him. It wasn't until morning came and the crew were hours into their shift that Thane began to stir.

The drell's eyelids began to flutter open, left to right and up and down, as his obsidian eyes came into view and took in his surroundings, quickly realizing that he was in the med bay. The events of the other day began to flood back to him and his mind immediately jumped to Maria.

"Ss - Siha." Thane's throaty voice groaned as he attempted to sit up, ignoring the pain in his chest. He was mildly surprised that the throb of pain wasn't coming from his lungs and lack of breath but his muscles themselves. The assassin didn't dwell on it, his only goal was to find his Siha to insure she was ok. Thane had only managed to sit up before a human hand pushed him lightly back on the cool wall behind his bed. Thane's head shot up in hopes that the hand belonged to Maria, but instead found the kind steel colored eyes of Doctor Chakwas.

"You need to take it easy . You have been through a lot in the last twenty-four hours and -" Chakwas was cut off by the over eager drell.

"Maria? Where is Maria? How is she?" Thane questioned, his eyes wide and showing more emotion than Chakwas was use to.

The medic's eyes drifted slowly to someone on the cot next to him, and Thane's eyes grew even larger as his mouth opened in shock at the sight of Shepard laying in the bed; the top of her head bruised and her hands bandaged to the tops of her wrists. Chakwas was no match for the drell as he swatted her hand carefully way from him and shot out of his own bed, stumbling only slightly from the after effects of the sedative that was given to him.

"Maria?" Thane's scaled hand cupped her face as his other grasped her wrapped hand gently. Thane scanned his memory of the battle on the Shadow Broker's base and even the moments after when he had been rushed on the Normandy, not once had Maria been injured. The drell turned his head to the doctor behind him, his voice deep and colored with vibrations as he spoke, "What happened?"

"She suffered a panic attack in your rooms. She tore them apart." Chakwas spoke lightly. "I believe her response was due to the condition they brought you back in yesterday."

Thane turned back to his Siha laying on the cot, she looked peaceful now in her sleep, but the bruising to her head and damaged to her hands told a story he wasn't keen to hear.

"Doctor, would it be ok if I carried her back to our rooms? I know she wouldn't want to be in here when she awakens." Thane didn't take his eyes off Maria as he spoke.

"Thane I'm not sure you should be leaving at all. Your vital signs are normal but Mordin was giving you a new treatment for your lungs and I'm sure he would prefer to follow up with you before - -" Again Chakwas was cut off by the drell.

"I think Mordin can wait doctor. I will come down for his test once I have changed and seen to Maria and our room." Thane didn't wait for any response or ok from Chakwas, instead he lifted Shepard easily into his arms despite the muscles of his chest protesting in pain. The tall drell nodded to the medic as he walked past her and out into the crew deck, nothing but skin tight shorts covering his lower half.

The unconscious Commander and the assassin made an odd sight indeed, but no one dared to ay anything, not even Garrus, who was eating along side Joker. The turian only gave Thane a nod as they passed and watched as the elevator took them to the Commander's cabin.

"You think she is going to be ok." Joker whispered, having witnessed everything on his bridge camera once EDI had informed him of the trouble going on upstairs.

"So long as he is with her. She'll be fine." Garrus reassured him, returning his attention back to his food.

* * *

"Thank you EDI. Can you be sure no one but Mordin and Chakwas are allowed to view this?" Thane asked the AI after pushing back from the terminal that he had just watched Maria's brake down on.

"I have already locked this footage way from view from anyone besides the medical doctors on board Mr. Krios. Even the Illusive Man." With that last shocking statement, EDI beeped out.

Thane remained in his seat, lacing his hands together as his elbows rested themselves on his knees. The room was completely renewed thanks to Thane spending the last hour placing everything back were it belonged and cleaning up the dead fish, glass and water that had covered the floor when he entered. The damaged coffee table had been sent down to the cargo bay and a new one, wherever it had come from, replaced it. The glass to the fish tank would need to be replaced when they docked, and the head board still remained dented from his hands. Thane had not been surprised at all by the damage he had done to the furniture, knowing full well the natural strength of his people was almost mutant to other species like the humans, asari or salarians. However, it had only seemed to fan the flames of his Siha's passion and lust. Thane's lips turning in a small grin at the memory as his eyes landed on the still sleeping woman across the room. After a moment Thane decided to go down to the crew deck to bring them both lunch before he would wake her, knowing she must have been asleep for over twelve hours by now.

"How is the Commander doing up there?" Gardner questioned Thane as the cook prepared two separate trays of lunch.

"Still sleeping for now. I wanted to have food for her before waking her." Thane answered lightly, his hands clasped gently behind his back as he waited patiently.

"Real thoughtful. You're a good guy Thane, treat the Commander well." Gardner gave an over exaggerated nod as he finished with the trays and turned to hand them to Thane, giving the drell a smile, "Seeing you two together reminds me of my wife and I when we were young."

Thane's brow ridges drooped in understanding sorrow, knowing the cook lost his whole family to batarians; something Thane could relate to.

Gardner saw the gesture and just gave a tight lipped smile and nod to let Thane know he was ok and nothing needed to be said. "You go take care of your woman, I'll be here if you need anything.

"Thank you Gardner." Thane gave a lower bow then he usually would, a sign of thanks, respect and empathy for were his thoughts must have carried him.

As Thane turned, the drell had to side step quickly in order to avoid colliding with Mordin, who had swiftly come up behind him as soon as the salarian noticed he was finished speaking with Gardner.

"Thane. Glad I caught you. Need to speak to you about change in treatment for your Kepral Syndrome. Suggest we go to lab." Mordin looked excited and spoke more quickly then normal; if that was possible.

Thane just gave the man a puzzled look as he walked to the elevators, the salarian was practically bouncing on his feet as he followed. As Thane rounded the corner to the elevator, pushing the button to call it down, he turned to Mordin, "Not to today I think. I need to speak with Shepard and see to her health. Perhaps tomorrow." Thane turned as the ding for the elevator gave out and the doors swished open. The assassin couldn't understand why the doctor would be so excited to speak to him about his quickly failing lungs. Even if Mordin had developed another treatment that some how worked better, the spreading of the disease never slowed down for long and regardless, he was still a dying man and the sickness would claim him sooner then his years would. Thane did not want to dwell on this or hear about his disease, each day with his Siha the thought of his looming death ate away at him and fear that had never been there before seeped it's way into his mind and gnawed at his thoughts; for the first time in a long time, Thane feared his own death.

"Do not understand Thane. Treatment is working better then expected. However, there is a minor problem, but can be fixed! Need you to come with me to -" Mordin was stopped by Thane's voice.

"Mordin you are not the first doctor to give false hope. But that is all it ever will be, false hope. The disease can not be stopped, only slowed for short periods of time. I am dying and -" This time Thane was cut off, quite suddenly as Mordin jumped in his face to stop him, backing him further into the elevator.

"Not dying! Not anymore! Degeneration of lung tissue in stasis for now, but will continue soon. However, will continue much slower. Between one twentieth and one thirtieth of it's original strength. Life expectancy much longer then once was. Three to five year expectancy while sustaining current strength, endurance and health." Mordin spoke with excitement and with his hands, waving them around wildly, his feet carrying him back and forth in the small space of the elevator; he seemed to almost forget that he was speak to Thane and not to just himself.

Thane couldn't let himself hope that what Mordin was saying was true, so he remained skeptical, "You said that there was a problem. As I said, it is only false hope Mordin and I doubt your numbers are correct. I suggest running them again." The doors of the elevator opened behind the salarian, "Now if you excuse me. I need to wake Maria." Thane side stepped the silent doctor, attempting to enter the room and assuming that Mordin would return to his labs.

"Maria is the one who pushed me to find cure." Mordin's words stopped Thane before he could reach the door.

The assassin sighed heavily, his heart growing heavy at the thought of his Siha searching for something that would not be found in time to save her the pain of losing him. Thane could not allow Mordin to tell Shepard about his theory on his health, it would only give her hope that would later be crushed when his time came.

Thane turned slowly around and placed the food on the ground. His eyes seemed to turn darker as his moved carefully towards Mordin, his tall frame standing slightly taller as he same closer. His voice was as empty as the first time he had boarded the ship, before he had grown close to the crew, "You will not tell Shepard what you have told me. You will not feed her lies that will give her the idea that I will remain with my body longer then we both know I will." Thane was now in Mordin's face, for the second time in forty eight hours Mordin was preparing himself to be hit or manhandle at least like Maria had done. "When I am gone . . ." Thane stumbled on his words, his eyelids fluttering rapidly as he fought against the icy touch of fear that gripped him, " When I leave my Siha, she will hurt enough. This, what you tell me. Hearing it, then finding it to not be true, it will devastate her. We need her to save this galaxy, and I need her to live, even without me. She must live on."

"But I have a solution Thane. I can cure you." Mordin spoke carefully, attempting to work past the shield of doubt that Thane had built around him concerning his illness.

The drell, who had taken on a more far off, thoughtful look, refocused his eyes on Mordin, and was now glaring at the man. Thane's hands shot out towards him, lifting him by his coat and growling as he spoke, "Stop it!"

"Thane! Put him down." Maria's voice behind him startled him, causing him to drop Mordin immediately in order to turn towards Shepard.

"Siha." Thane practically ran to her, cupping her face and drawing her close to him. She was slightly pale and her eyes only crinkled a fraction as he took one of her damaged hands in his, but other then that she seemed perfectly fine.

Maria placed her bandaged hand on his arm as her other rested gently on his naked chest where the cut out of his leather shirt opened up. Her green eyes scanned his face and body, not seeing a scratch on. He looked like the picture of heath. She let her eyes linger on her hand against his chest, watching the rise and fall of his breathing, comforted by the simple action.

After a few moments of taking in the other and enjoying the feeling of knowing Thane was safe and alive in her arms, Maria moved to the side, not completely out of Thane's embrace but enough to wear she could address Mordin properly, "How did it go?" A warning growl began in Thane's chest as he turned cold eyes on Mordin, but he was silenced immediately by the light jab of Maria's elbow to his side. "Go ahead Mordin, I want to know."

Mordin gave one last suspicious glace to Thane before he stepped away from the wall Thane had had him against, " Switch in treatment went well. There was some complication with his heart stopping but was dealt with quickly." Mordin reassured, holding up his hands when he saw the wide eye look of fear that had crossed Maria's face, Thane only gave him another glare as he rubbed the Commander's shoulders for support. "As treatment continued, and more tests on tissue samples were done, patient began to show signs of real progress. But I had warned you that the serum was not ready, was taking great risk by give Thane it early. However, was able to work with chemical changes, and make serum work in time with injections. But, there is one problem."

"What is it?" Maria asked eagerly. It seemed like everything went well and Mordin was acting like this problem was only a small bump in their plans.

Mordin's eyes flicked to Thane's still angry expression for only a moment before continuing, know the hardest battle against his Kepral Syndrome was going to be to convince him to comply with what he was about to tell them. "Thane must get a lung transplant in order for cure to take effect as it should. His lungs are too corrupted, and the serum is too weak to work against the illness once it has spread this far. But, if he were to receive a transplant, lungs would be coated and strengthened to fight off disease indefinitely. Essentially, Thane would live with the disease the rest of his life, but it would remain dormant inside his body forever, never able to harm newly adapted lung tissue."

**THERE'S HOPE! Please Review!**


	38. Perfect For Each Other

"No!" Thane repeated stubbornly, for what felt like the millionth time since being told about the break through concerning his condition.

"Why? Why are you so against this?" Kolyat continued to rave at his father, pacing back and forth in front of the glass of the interrogation room that over looked the people coming and going through the hallway of the Zakara Ward entrance. The glass allowed the occupants of the room to see outside, but the people outside would only see their own reflection. Bailey had allowed the two men to use the room once again for their private meeting.

"You know my reasons. I refuse to deprive another more deserving of life, just to prolong my own." Thane explained bitterly.

"You won't be prolonging your life, you would be saving it! Dr. Solos assured you that the treatment would work. And who could be more deserving then the man who is part of the group taking down the collectors and reapers?" Kolyat stopped in front of his father, his large eyes searching the older drell's face for any change in his stubborn posture.

Thane uncrossed his arms after a few moments, his face crumbling away to a look of exhaustion. He had been arguing about this new treatment for the last two days and it was becoming taxing.

Thane brought his hands to his face as he rubbed the spot between his eyes and his temples in an attempt to relieve himself of his constant headache as he spoke to his son, "There is no guarantee that this will work Kolyat."

"Bullshit! Mordin thinks it will, the ships medic thinks it will and even Shepard thinks it will. You seem to be the only one in denial about the whole thing for some strange reason that even the gods themselves couldn't even understand!" Kolyat ended his speech with a shout, throwing his hands over his head as he turned angrily away from his father, trying to calm himself with no successes.

Kolyat didn't notice his father's hands lowering to his side as his head shot up mid-rant. Thane fixed his son with a piercing look as the boy turned from him, "You have spoken to Maria?"

Kolyat's anger subsided enough to turn back to his father with a less infuriated look as he regarded the man. The look in his eyes was a cross between demanding and desperation, his usually calm voice had sound equally so. Thane might as well have begged Kolyat on his hands and knees to reveal anything and everything the Commander might have said to him.

Kolyat breathed a sigh of sympathy for his father. Despite being angry at the older drell himself, he couldn't help but feel some form of pity for him at being completely cut off by Shepard after he told her he would not receive a lung transplant. The woman had completely lost it, screaming and yelling until her voice was hoarse; his father screaming right back at her. Maria had finally told him to leave their rooms, pushing Thane away as he attempted to touch her. It had finally taken a biotic push to make Thane leave, causing the drell to go flying into the hallway wall, helpless to stop the green holo pad of the room from turning red. Thane had pounded on the door for some time before EDI informed him that Shepard had order for no one to be let in and she refused to open the door. Thane eventually abandon his attempt at reentry and shuffled sadly back to life support to sleep on his old cot for the first time in months. Kolyat had been contacted the next day by Shepard, her face devoid of emotion as she reported to him, his father's answer to Mordin's possible cure. Kolyat had been livid and immediately marched down to the Normandy, pushing past crewman as he made his way to life support, only to find a sight he didn't believe possible. Thane had been hunched over in the dark on his cot, his leather jacket thrown carelessly on the floor, his head in his hands before he looked up at his angry son barreling towards him. Kolyat could only think of one word at that moment to describe his father: vulnerable. Now he was staring into those same eyes that didn't look so helpless anymore, but Thane was definitely frantic for any news about his new lover.

"Yes, I have." Kolyat finally answered, all the bite gone from his voice as his sympathy for his father won over. Preparing for ones death for the last ten years, in hopes that you would be reunited with the only love of your life, just to have a new one come into it so suddenly and steal your heart when you're at the end of your time mustn't be easy to deal with. His father was being asked to accept something that he had been told would never happen in his life time. Something that he had built most of his life around dealing with and developing whole thought processes and moral codes around his sickness and what he chose to do with the time he had left. Thane was still being an idiot, but Kolyat could attempt to understand the struggle behind such news.

"Did she mention me?" Thane sounded almost pathetic to Kolyat's ears, due to the fact that his father always seemed so strong at all times. He couldn't remember a time in his perfect memory when he had seen his father so upset about an argument between his mother and him and even during his mother's release to the sea his father still managed to remain strong and stoic. Kolyat knew his father suffered from the loss of his mother, but even at this moment it was apparent the connection between his father and Maria was different and possibly stronger than the one he had had with his deceased wife. Kolyat didn't like to dwell on that thought too long. He liked the Commander and enjoyed his slowly growing relationship with his father, but Irikah would always be his mother and a part of him would always only want them together.

"Of course she did. The whole damn discussion was about you and how your being a complete bastard about this whole situation." Kolyat folded his arms across his chest, glaring at his father, but his expression not holding the same fire behind it as it did before.

His father at least had the good sense to look remorseful, but said nothing as he dropped his gaze from his son's.

"You know for someone who claims to love her, you are doing an awful lot to not be with her. And to break her heart I might add. Not to mention your own son's." Kolyat's face hardened as his father returned his beaten expression back on him. Kolyat could see the turmoil that was going on within the man now.

"I cannot take another's life when they should be the one to remain with their families. Their loved ones. Their wife . . . Their son." Thane's voice trailed off at the end. Kolyat realized that this was more than a fight to give up on a plan that had been in the making for ten years, this was also a fight on whether or not Thane would stop punishing himself for abandoning his family.

Kolyat stepped closer to the man, reaching out a hand to place it on his father's strong shoulder. Before the young drell could get a word out however, the sight of one of the many pedestrians outside caught his eyes; the tightening of his hand as he watched the person drew his father's attention as well.

Thane's eyes lifted, his head feeling a hundred pounds heavier, but as he registered what, or rather who, had caught his son's eye, his whole body became numb. There, walking not ten feet from him was Maria with Garrus and Mordin at her side. Her expression was closed off and the subtle black rings under her eyes hinted at the sleepless night she must have had. She was dressed in combat boots, military issued black pants and a fitting blue t-shirt. None of it seemed to have a hint of her own style and self-expression in it; her clothing was purely functional today. It sent a stab of pain through him to see that she wasn't wearing the jacket he had bought her; she never seemed to leave the ship without it since he gave it to her. Maria looked as if she was on a mission as she continued down the hall, her fast pace almost considered a run as the two men at her side struggled to keep up with her, but neither seemed inclined to ask her questions or slow her pace.

Suddenly, Thane went ridged, his eyes glossing over as his mind succumbed to the pull of solipsism; leaving Kolyat to only listen to his father's memories.

"_What about your son? If not for yourself do it for Kolyat!?" She screams, tears beginning fresh trails over dry ones. _

"_Kolyat knew of my condition long before I left him. He knew that my time would come soon in my life. He has accepted this as have I!" I yell. _

"_Acceptance does not mean he will not be destroyed with losing his father again! And after the news of the surgery and new treatment you really expect him to accept any of this?" She questions with rage. Stepping closer to me as she swings her arms around in wide gestures._

"_It is my choice and I choose to leave another innocent's life off my conscience!" I have stunned her into silence with the volume of my voice. She shrinks back, but the fire in her eyes has not left. _

_She stares me down, not saying anything for a few moments, then her full lips finally move, her voice a whisper, "What about me?" _

Thane came crashing back to reality, blinking rapidly as he took in his surroundings. His eyes met his son's disproving gaze, the boy's lips pressed together in a thin line before eventually opening to address him, "What about her dad?"

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Maria questioned Mordin as she watched him fill the syringe with the clear liquid that he had carefully measured out.

"Strong enough to knock out Krogan for days, will be enough to knock out drell. Even one as strong as Thane. But must ask Shepard. Is risk worth the possible repercussions?" Mordin fixed Shepard with a questioning gaze as he finished up with the syringe.

Maria gave him no answer, just held out her hand for the short metal tube with the quick injection button. Mordin did not prod for an answer, choosing to just hand over the device and turn back to his medical bag, checking that everything was there; including what was picked up that afternoon on the Citadel.

"Remember you must be quick to catch him off guard . . ." Mordin's last instructions were lost on the Commander as she immediately left the room once the tranquilizer was put in her hand.

Mordin stared at the closed door for a second longer, hoping that this would not be a mistake.

* * *

Thane sat at his old table in life support, his elbows resting on the cool metal as he laced his fingers together, his back perfectly straight as he prayed. Kolyat had escorted him back to the Normandy hours ago and asked that his father think over the choice he was making. Thane had not attempted to return to Maria's rooms but instead returned to life support to begin praying to the gods for guidance as he always did. It seemed today they were not listening, because Thane was no less conflicted than he was the day before.

The sound of the door opening actually caused the assassin to flinch ever so slightly, but the familiar smell that filled the room caused him to spin suddenly in his chair, his legs propelling him upwards at the sight of Shepard entering the room.

"Siha?" Thane whispered, as if not believing that she was actually in front of him, or not able to hope that she had possibly forgiven him.

Maria said nothing as her walk didn't slow as she made her way towards him. Thane was shocked at the sudden feeling of her arms around him, her body leaning all her weight against his own as she embraced him. It only took a second for him to react in kind, his arms circling around her waist as he held her close, his eyes closing as he breathed in the scent of her hair.

"Thane." He heard her choke out against his neck, the feeling of wet tears sliding down his scales was not lost on him.

"Siha, I am here." Thane pulled her away, enough so he could see her face and still keep her close. Fresh tears leaving track marks under her eyes glistened under the soft light from the drive core behind him. He lifted a hand to wipe away the salty water, her own remained stubbornly locked around his neck.

Before Thane could think to say anything, Maria pulled him down to her, her lips attaching themselves to his own fiercely. Thane was taken aback by the desperation in the kiss, and a part of him felt he should be on guard at Maria's sudden appearance and actions. The nagging sense of danger pulled at his thoughts, the same instincts that he had relied on for years as an assassin were sending warning signals to his brain. However, Thane pushed them aside, not knowing why he should feel any danger on the Normandy or in Maria's presence and not caring at that moment.

Thane slipped his tongue past her lips as he deepened the kiss, pulling his head back enough that their mouths were no longer crushed together but now moving fluidly and comfortably enough to be labeled as passionate and no longer desperate and clumsy. He lost track of time as they stood their, kissing and touching, time did not matter, the only thing that mattered was that she was here, with him. Maria's left hand would trail down his head, along his neck and rest on his chest before traveling up again. Never once did she remove her right from around his neck. Again that nagging feeling of suspicion gnawed at him, but Thane ignored it, preferring to live in the pleasure of the moment.

The sudden pull of Maria's lips away from his own caused a growl to begin in his chest as he opened his eyes, to find her staring at him; her own clouded over slightly. The drell attempted to pull her in to begin another kiss but all his lips met was air as she pulled back, keeping close of course by the hold she had on his neck.

"Thane, I love you. You know that right?" Maria finally whispered.

"Of course Siha. And I love you. I always will." Thane answered, giving her a small smile which wasn't returned.

Maria bowed her head for a moment, earning a confused look from Thane; it was troubling him not knowing what was going through her head. Her bright green eyes returned to his suddenly, something in them sent the warning bells in Thane's head ringing, but still he remained still. Her left hand caressing the side of his face, tracing the octagon shape on his forehead and down to trace the shape of his lips put him at ease once again.

"I hope you feel that way after this." Maria's comment only had time to throw Thane off for half a second before the light sting of the injection needles at the back off his neck alerted him to what his heightened senses had been try to warn him about.

Thane had no time to react, the tranquilizer already doing it's job, blurring his vision and fogging his brain. His body began to stumble forward into Maria's waiting arms, but the look of confusion and betrayal in Thane's eyes is what Shepard was focused on. Her eyes never left his as she lowered him to the floor, her hand coming up to ping Mordin to let him know that she was ready for them to take Thane away.

* * *

Thane felt as if he was under water, the sounds around him muffled to a dull babble. His eyes would open as slits only to great him with the sight of blurred images and bright light. These moments only lasted seconds before the darkness would overtake him again and he would sleep a dreamless sleep. He couldn't be sure, but he was almost certain Maria was there with him the few seconds he would awaken, his mind desperately trying to focus on her, his hands wanting to reach out to search for her as his voice attempted to call out for her. Each time was futile, his window of opportunity being too short and his control of his body ceasing to exist. Thane had to wonder, for those few seconds of consciousness, was this his punishment for his sins? Had he finally met his end and the gods had not granted him forgiveness?

* * *

"How is he doing?" Shepard asked, her hair still damp from the fresh shower she had just come from, which had been forced upon her by doctor Chakwas. The medic knew if she had allowed, Shepard would not have eaten, slept or bathed the whole three days Thane had been out.

"He is doing exceptionally well. Vital signs are strong, the new set of lungs are holding up well and the disease seems to be under control. I would say Thane will be up and killing in a matter of days, no more than a week." Chakwas reported to the Commander with a smile.

Maria nodded, taking her place at Thane's side, the chair now having a permanent dip that conformed to her body shape from the amount of time she had spent in it. Her green eyes would not leave the rise and fall of Thane's chest, her hands blindly pulling up the collar of her black and red leather jacket; the material that reminded her so much of Thane acted as a small comfort.

"Maria, you need to eat today. He won't appreciate the sight of his girlfriend withered away to nothing when he wakes up." Chakwas joked, hoping it might bring some sort of smile to the Commander's face. The woman with the "light up the room smile" hadn't done so since Thane had been brought in from the Shadow Broker's base. It was beginning to worry the older woman.

"I doubt it will matter much when he wakes up." Maria answered. Not taking her eyes off Thane.

"And why is that?" Chakwas questioned.

"Because, he will hate me for going against his wishes. I might even be going against his religion. I'm not exactly sure. He never gave me a sold reason why he didn't want to save himself. I just knew once I kicked him out, I was going to save him whether he liked it or not." Maria spoke in a quiet, detached voice, one that suggested that she might not be really speaking to Chakwas but more to herself as she went on.

Chakwas lifted herself from her chair and walk the short distance over to Maria in her chair. The medic bent down to the Commander's level, noting that Maria still refused to look away from Thane.

"Maria look at me." Chakwas attempted to order the woman with no successes. The doctor mustered up every once of authority and motherly love she had for the young woman and tried again, "Maria! Look. At. Me."

Maria's green eyes finally drifted away from Thane's sleeping form and made contact with Chakwas steel blue ones.

Chakwas wasted no time once she gained the Commander's attention, "Now you listen. That man loves you. When he boarded this ship, I had never seen a man who looked so alone, so detached from the world. But once he bothered to open his eyes to what was in front of him, all he could see was you. You brought him back from death Shepard, because he certainly wasn't doing any living before you. All you did these past few days is insure that he wouldn't return to deaths door before his time was up. Thane is a complex man, with an even more complex life to go along with his complex beliefs, which might be the reason you two are so perfect for one another. There are not many in this galaxy, as big as it may be, who could understand even a fraction of what you two have gone through in your life's, let alone accept it all; but by all the luck in the galaxy you two found each other. Only a stupid person would give that up Maria and only a stupid person would walk away from a woman like you. Thane is not a stupid man. Have confidence in his love for you. He is going to be upset for sure, and you better have a damn good speech to explain this all to him. But at the end of the day, you found each other and he has to realize that your love for him wasn't going to just allow him to die in front of you with out trying to save him. He was scared and confused Maria, you made the way clear for him." Chakwas was relieved to see the stress and depression of the situation that had visibly weighed the Commander down was lifting and she was starting to relax. The doctor gave the younger woman a smile, "Granted the way was made clear through the use of a tranquilizer designed for a Krogan. It still counts." This thankfully earned her a smile and a light chuckle. The few strands of tears that escaped the corner of the woman's eyes were quickly wiped away by the medic, "He loves you. Believe and trust in that love to get you both through this."

Maria genuinely felt comforted by the woman's words, for the first time since Thane's brush with death, she felt not so alone in her struggle. She gave the medic a small smile and a nod to reassure her that her words had helped some.

"I'm going to go visit with Kolyat, let him know how his father is doing. Maybe go get something to eat with him." Maria pulled herself from the chair. Hesitating for only a moment she gave Chakwas a quick thank you hug before leaving the med bay.

* * *

"Well that's good news." Kolyat looked relieved to hear that his father was doing well. The young drell had been to see his father twice during the three days he had been in the med bay and the man had been hooked up to many machines and holo braces. He didn't appear to be in great health, but the fact that Shepard had even left his side spoke volumes to how well the treatment was going.

"Yeah. Chakwas says he should be up and at a hundred percent within a week." Shepard mumbled as she continued to push her untouched food around her plate.

Kolyat observed the woman across from him, noticing how horrible she looked. Black rings sat under her eyes and her cheeks seemed to be slightly more sunken in and her skin had a pale unhealthy look to it. He hadn't seen her with make-up on since the ship arrived at the Citadel and he was pretty sure this wasn't the first time she was refusing to eat.

Kolyat watched her push the fork around for a few more moments before finally reaching out over the table and grabbing her hand, stopping her movement, "Shepard you need to eat. You don't look good and this is unhealthy. My father is going to be fine, you should be happy."

Maria looked just as miserable as his father had when he had come to speak to Kolyat about refusing the transplant. The human pulled her smaller hand from under his, placing her fork on the table as she leaned back into the booth seat.

"Have you told your family yet?" Maria asked quietly, choosing to ignore Kolyat's comment and refusing to look him in the eye.

Kolyat returned his hand to his side of the table, his eyes narrowing at her for changing the topic, but he decided to answer her anyway, "Yes I have. My mother's family is relieved and my father's brother and niece are happy beyond belief, as well as my grandparents."

Maria's eyes widened as her head jerked up suddenly, "Grandparents?"

Kolyat couldn't help the smile that came to his lips at her obvious shock and almost fearful look at the revelation that his grandmother were still alive, "Yes, my father's parents. I'm guessing he failed to mention them ever?"

"He speaks about them, but always in the past, mainly when he was younger. I just assumed . . ." Maria's voice trailed off, not wanting to insult Kolyat in anyway by assuming that his grandparents had been dead and now being scared that they were actually very much alive.

The look on Kolyat's face made it obvious that he was clearly amused and the trembling of his lips as he attempted to keep himself from laughing was getting worse, now bits of snickering was leaking through his hand over his mouth.

"It's not funny! Do you know I have never once dated anyone whose parents were still alive. Kadian was probably the only one who would be the exception, but there was never any chance of meeting them." Maria was very troubled by this bit of news.

"Why are you so worried? You're Savior of the Galaxy. You would think every parent would want you to marry their kid." Kolyat managed to get out past his hand.

"Yes, I'm sure every parent's dream is for their son to marry a woman who is constantly in the thick of danger and drags those around her with her to hell. Yeah I'm sure the knowledge that I could kill their son in seconds doesn't trouble them at all." Maria retorted, her eyes closing as she leaned her head in her hands.

"Are we talking about the same son who is supposed to be the best assassin in the galaxy? Whose parents knew what he was being trained for? Oh and I'm pretty sure he could kill you before you got the chance to kill him." Kolyat gave her a pointed look as she peaked through her hands to glare at him.

"They are going to hate me." Maria's voice was muffled as she ran her hands down her face.

"No they won't. If your charm doesn't win them over then the fact that you saved their oldest son's life might be enough." Kolyat reassured her, staring at her with a bit of disbelief that she would think they wouldn't love her.

Maria shook her head as she sat up, her head turned to look away from him, her eyes not looking at anything in particular as her demeanor became solemn once again as she spoke in a soft voice to herself, "None of it will even matter anyway. Thane is going to hate me after this."

Kolyat's brows crinkled in confusion, not sure if he had heard her correctly, "What?"

Maria ignored him and pushed herself up and out of the booth, passing her omini tool over the table to pay for her untouched meal and his own, "I have to go. But you should come by the Normandy, to see your father soon. We won't be leaving until he wakes up."

Kolyat lifted himself from his own seat, trying to get a view of her face, which she seemed to be hiding from him, "Shepard?"

"Goodbye Kolyat, I'll see you tomorrow maybe." Maria tried to walk past him to get to the exit, but Kolyat's voice managed to stop her for a few moments.

"I'll come tomorrow, my uncle's shuttle should be getting in from Kahje around noon so if you could meet us at the wards you can meet him." Kolyat hoped that she would turn around, maybe come back so he could speak to her some more, "He wants to meet the woman who saved his brother's life and to see him himself." Kolyat wanted her to realize that she had done something amazing for his family and they would all be thankful for her kindness. But the message seemed to do nothing to improve her spirits because she only gave him a nod before continuing through the doors, not once looking back or slowing her pace.

* * *

Twelve-thirteen, and no sign of Shepard or his uncle. Kolyat could understand that maybe his uncle's shuttle had been delayed or he was having a hard time navigating the wards, but Shepard should have been there by now. Kolyat debated calling the Commander or maybe even going down to the Normandy himself and telling his uncle to meet him there. Before he could make a decision, he gave the walk way another sweep with his eyes, searching for any sign of Shepard. In the far corner of the bay, a person in a hoodie and jeans was stepping out of the shadows and seemed to be making their way towards him. Kolyat kept his eyes on the person, now clearly female by the body shape and sway of her hips, but he couldn't be certain it was Shepard due to the hood covering her face. As the woman reached him, he could see dark brown strands of hair and smooth tanned skin peeking out of the hood; the woman was clearly human that was for sure.

"Shepard?" Kolyat questioned, taking a step forward when the woman stopped a few feet from him.

Small human hands reached up to pull the hood back, revealing the Commander's serious face, "Kolyat."

"What's with the hood and the sneaking around?" Kolyat lifted his chin towards the corner shadows that she had appeared from, from the looks of it she had been there awhile.

Shepard gave no answer, but instead her eyes shifted around as if she was waiting for someone to pop out of nowhere, "Has your uncle arrived?"

Kolyat gave her a puzzled look as he answered, "No, not yet. I suspect his shuttle was delayed. Shepard what's going on?"

Maria stepped closer to him as she pulled something from the pockets of her hoodie, it was a data pad, "Here, I want you to have this. When you go see your father you and your uncle can stay as long as you need to. I have already instructed the crew to give you whatever you need."

Kolyat took the data pad without even glancing at it, instead he pocketed it and stepped closer to the woman, trying to restrain himself from grabbing her by the arms and shaking her, demanding her to snap out of it and tell him what was wrong. Instead he spoke in a hushed voice, "Shepard what's going on? Why are you not coming with us? I would think you would want to meet my uncle? Isn't that what couples do? Meet each other's families?"

"I can't Kolyat. Just take him to see your father and let him know what's going on with his treatment. Your father should be waking up soon, the doctors took him off the tranquilizer last night, so you can speak to him about what to do from there." Shepard's eyes were looking everywhere but at Kolyat as she spoke.

Kolyat could feel his teeth clenching out of frustration. First his father and now Shepard? Why were these two so strange? One wanted to die and the other wanted to punish herself for saving a man's life.

"Shepard. You better start talking because I have had about . . ." Kolyat didn't get to finish his sentence because the Commander's eyes went wide as she spotted something to his right, drawing his attention. The only drell on the platform was walking their way, a single black duffle bag hung over his shoulders as he searched the platform for any sign of his nephew.

"I have to go." Shepard threw her hood over her head and attempted to escape, but Kolyat was quick and his strong hands snatched her by the arms and pulled her to him, his jaw set in a stubborn lock and his eyes glaring down at her, "What the hell is going on Shepard! Why are you being like this? Do you regret saving my father's life?" Anger and betrayal radiated off the young man and Shepard was stunned for a few moments, frozen in his hands.

Maria noticed that Riue was slowly getting closer to their location and she quickly shook off her surprise to answer the blue drell, "Of course I don't! I always knew I was never just going to let him die, but I didn't know he would be so against it." Kolyat could feel her shoulders slump in his hands and he relaxed his hold on them as he listened to her continue, "And now I'm going to lose him regardless because I saved him." Maria's eyes lifted to look at Kolyat for the first time since speaking to him, "Your father will hate me for what I did, but I would rather him hate me forever then throw away his life."

Kolyat's mouth had fallen open slightly as he listened to her, everything now being so clear. She wasn't regretting her decision or scared to meet his family, she was scared that his father would no longer want her after what she did. Now he understood why she hadn't left the Citadel. He was sure that after the first couple of days of his father's surgery and seeing that he would be ok the crew could have left the Citadel to complete another task or whatever it was Shepard need to do for her mission, without worrying over his father too much. But Shepard wanted to give Thane the chance to leave the ship when he woke up. She didn't want to force him to return to the squad if he chose to leave her.

The revelation stunned Kolyat so much that he had dropped his hands from Shepard's shoulders and she was now slowly backing away. Her voice drew his attention once more, "Take care of him Kolyat." And like that, she was gone, back into the crowed and into the Shadows.

Kolyat was sure she was going to stay in a hotel somewhere on the Citadel while his uncle visited his father, not wanting to chance returning to the Normandy even to shut herself in her rooms. Kolyat remembered the data pad Maria had handed him and pulled it from his pocket. A quick scan of the pad revealed that it was a detailed list of how to help his father with any kind of side effects from the treatment and what kind of medication he should be taking for the next few weeks. Again, she had made sure that Thane would have what he need to leave the Normandy if he chose to. Shepard had planned this all out, she had actually gone through with her plan, knowing there was a possibility that Thane would be so angry that he would leave her. That was how much she loved him.

Kolyat was stunned by the woman's devotion to his father that he didn't quite realize when his uncle had found him and now the green, white, black and gray scaled hand of Riue was waving in his face, attempting to get his attention.

"Kolyat?" Riue's gravelly voice penetrated the younger drell's thought and brought him back to the present.

Kolyat didn't bother to greet his uncle, but instead pulled the man in the direction that would take them to the Normandy, "We need to hurry."

Kolyat prayed that his father would be awake when they arrived so he could warn the man about Shepard's feelings. Thane need to reassure her that he loved her and was not angry, she needed to know she was crazy for ever think his father would leave her.

**I'm so sorry for the lack of updating. Honestly I just had writers block and of course school started about a month ago so I haven't had time to even try and get my inspiration back. Thankfully, the other day I just started writing and mulled over what I really wanted to do with this idea and I got this chapter out and the next one is already started and thought out. I'm hoping that I can get the next chapter out in the next few days and get this story over with within a few weeks. I have the second part already ready and I'll just keep going through to the third game. **

**PLEASE REVIEW! JUST TO LET ME KNOW THAT YOU ALL ARE STILL WITH ME AND LIKE THE STORY.**


	39. Crossroads

**So the plan is to finish the story up, than make correction while I'm on winter break. I will probably just continue the second part of the story and make corrections to this one as I go along too. Not sure if I'll just be continuing the second part as this story or starting a whole new one as the Mass Effect 3 part of the story? But those of you who wanted this story finished with apposed to me stopping and revising the story have won out and I hope you like this chapter. I know I always make the promise that I'll get the next one out soon and I really do intend to but will see what life lets me do. **

The dull babbling was starting again and the shapes before him gave no indication of his surroundings; it was bright where ever he was. Thane knew at any moment the darkness would take him again and it would begin all over. Just like every other time. Despite the odds, Thane attempted to reach out and scream for Maria; of course Thane's body refused to obey him. However, as the seconds past, Thane began to realize this time seemed to be different, the feeling of being underwater was slowly clearing, and the sound of whoever was around him was growing louder and distinguishable. Thane felt his fingers twitch first, than his feet, than his wrists. His jaw shifted his teeth against one another, his brain willing his lips to open and his voice to carry to Shepard, to his Siha. Thane fought through the fog and unknown, searching for the one person he was sure had been with him every time he had tried to enter the world of consciousness, but the cold feeling of being alone was gnawing at him; which only caused him to fight harder.

"Brain waves are increasing. He is conscious again. Kolyat. Riue. He is waking up." Thane could make out a female voice speaking.

_Riue? My brother? What is he doing here? Where is Shepard? _Thane wondered, _Maria! Shepard_! Thane thought desperately.

Suddenly, his onyx eyes opened completely, his vision clearing at a dizzying speed, his mouth hung wide open as his stiff muscles propelled him into a sitting position in his bed. The fact that he was screaming at the top of his lungs Shepard's name had not yet registered with the assassin as he stared at the people in front of him. His son and his brother were there, wide eyed shock written on their faces as his eyes shifted to Chakwas who was trying to push him back down onto the bed. Abruptly, the sound kicked back on in his ears and the sound of his own screams startled him and the sound of his son's pleas mixed with those of the doctors were beginning to register.

"Thane, you have to lay down. Please calm down!" Chakwas shouted over his scream.

"Dad stop screaming. Shepard is fine. Lay down!" Kolyat was now having to fight his father as he swatted his son's arms away.

"Where is she!? What happened!?" Thane pushed at their arms, trying to pull his legs to the side in order to leave the bed, "What happened!? The last thing I remember was . . ." Suddenly Thane went still, his whole body going stiff as his mind pulled him into a memory.

"_I hope you feel that way after this." The stab of the needles __in __my neck comes too quickly for me to move. My body succumbs to whatever she has injected me with. _

_Why? I think, __w__hat is she doing?_

_Her hands lower me to the floor, her shining eyes never leave mine, she never leaves my side . . . _

Thane shook his head of the memories as he returned to the med bay. The realization of what Maria had done to him slowly began to piece together. The needle was a strong tranquilizer, he was in the med bay and had been for sometime. All those times he had woken up he had been here. But what had they been doing? Thane's hands lifted to his head, trying to clear it of the fog that was still present, his breathing, which had been labored was now calming as he took in his situation. Then something dawned on him as he focused on his breathing. Thane placed his hands on the railing of the bed as he took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling; repeating the process a few times over. It all became clear in that moment, Maria had knocked him out to undergo the transplant regardless of his wishes. He could breathe with no pain again.

"Where is she?" Thane snarled at the occupants of the room, the look in his black green eyes caused Chakwas to jump back. Never before had she seen someone look so murderous.

* * *

The warmth of the water hitting her shoulders slowly leached the stress from Maria's body. Her hands massaged her scalp as the shampoo worked its way through the thick layers of her hair. Her eyes closed as she dipped her head under the spray of the shower to rinse her hair, repeating the process with her conditioner. Now that she was cleaned she should be leaving the shower, but her body stayed rooted to the spot under the spray. There had always been something comforting and calming about taking a shower. When she was younger hot water had been a luxury, and a shower had not been guaranteed regularly. But when she left to join the Reds, she had access to a hot shower everyday, and Maria took great enjoyment in the private warmth of the water, choosing to remain under its beat for an hour straight. The sound and the feeling of the drops pouring down her body was calming and freeing. So that was where she stayed, sitting on the floor of the hotel shower, letting the water beat on her back as she curled her legs to her body.

The beep of her omini tool was what caused her to lift her head, the first three times she had been able to ignore it, but now the infernal beep had ruined her meditative state and she was forced to leave the comfort of her shower. Shepard didn't bother with drying herself off or reaching for her clothes, but instead took the omini tool from the counter and into the studio apartment style room. The Commander sat herself on the edge of the bed, the silk sheets darkening due to the water still dripping from her body.

Shepard clicked on the newest video message request, not showing any shock when the face of the Illusive Man appeared on her omini tool. Maria also didn't seem to care very much that the top portion of her naked body was most likely being projected right back to the Cerberus boss.

"Shepard! Why haven't . . . Is there a reason you felt the need to finally answer my call naked?" The older man's brows lifted as he questioned the Commander, his eyes only darting down for a second to her breast.

"Has it been that long since you have seen a naked woman that you are so uncomfortable about it?" Shepard answered in a dull, mocking voice.

The only response she got was the Illusive Man taking a drag from his cigarette. It seemed that he was going to ignore that comment as he continued on, "Shepard I realize that a teammate of yours has been injured and you have taken the time to treat him. But now it seems you find it necessary to spend my credits on things like luxury hotel suits and extended docking fees at the Citadel while the Collectors continue to wreak havoc on the galaxy."

"We both know the Collectors haven't hit a colony since Horizon. And they are most likely staying away until after they can eliminate my team." Shepard stood from her bed now as she talked, setting her omini tool on the nightstand next to the bed as she crossed the room to finally retrieve a towel and some cloths; all the while giving the Illusive Man a great view of her naked backside.

"And what about the lives that the Collectors have already taken Shepard? Will you just leave them to die? Have you given up on your mission just for one sick drell?" The Illusive Man's voice was more taunting then genuinely curious.

"Don't act like you give a damn about those colonist lives. Your only concern is to gain info on the Collectors and take out a threat to Cerberus." Maria was now dressed and heading back to the nightstand. Her arms folded across her chest as she stared stoically at the screen.

"Regardless of my personal feeling towards the Collectors, it does not change how _you _feel. You care about what happens and you want to stop the Collectors despite me asking you to go through the Omega 4 Relay. Now I would suggest you stop moping and get to work. If you do not return to the Normandy in the next hour, Miranda has orders to leave with the crew and the Normandy without you. When you return I'll be waiting for your call so we can go over the final details of the mission." And without waiting for any kind of reply, the Illusive Man clicked offline, leaving Maria's omni tool blank.

Shepard new this would happen eventually, the Illusive Man wasn't just going to let her put the mission on hold just because her love life was in danger. She was probably lucky he hadn't freaked out about the cost of the transplant that she had used his money to pay for; it had not been cheap. Maria could only follow through with his orders now, because despite the fact that he was a cold, heartless bastard who she would rather tell go to hell, he was right in this instance. Shepard needed to return to duty.

Maria quickly left the hotel room, she had brought nothing but a pistol and the cloths on her back to the room so she was gone in minutes. She had only been away from the Normandy for the night and she hoped that Thane had made his choice by now to either stay or leave and didn't hang around to speak to her on his decision. It hurt too much already to think of him leaving. She didn't know how strong she could continue to be if she actually had to speak to him about it.

It only took the Commander twenty minutes to get back to the Normandy's docking bay, her eyes shifted from side to side as if she expected Thane to jump out at any moment. She knew she couldn't stall longer then she already had, her feet reluctantly marched her to her ship and through the decontamination chamber. As the final doors opened, Shepard flinched backwards at the sudden appearance of the other person she had been trying to avoid.

"Shepard! Where have you been? You don't tell anyone one were you're going and ignore any calls or messages? Do you know how worried we were? Even Kolyat didn't know where you were?" Garrus followed the Commander down the hall of crewmembers with his questions. Many eyes followed the two friends, attempting to eavesdrop, but failing to find out the Commander's explanation because she just let Garrus rant at her while walking past the CIC and into the labs.

"Shepard!" Mordin's shocked voice called from his usual spot behind his workbench, his hands stilling over the latest tech he was tinkering with.

"Mordin." Shepard greeted, but didn't stop to talk as she made her way past him and to the conference room, the large turian behind her still at her heels as she walked.

"Shepard are you going to explain anything to me? You haven't talked to me since I found you in your rooms freaking out? What's going . . ." Garrus had to stop suddenly as the Commander spun on her heel, forcing him back against the wall with a biotic charged hand.

"What's going on!? Is that what you want to know Garrus? Well let's see, my new boyfriend was almost killed a week ago, than when he wakes up we are told that we can cure him of the sickness that is slowly killing him anyway. You would think he would be happy right? But no, of course he isn't. He has to be noble about getting a lung transplant because he feels he is too evil to live. So because I refuse to watch him die I go and knock his ass out and tell the doctors to give him the damn surgery anyway. But wait, I can't be happy about saving his life! Because now he hates me for doing it and now he will live for many, many, many years and I won't be with him." By the end of her speech Shepard looked even more defeated then she had in the last week and all the fire had left her body along with her biotic glow.

Garrus remained against the wall, staring down at the fragile woman in front of him who looked so foreign to him. Shepard was always strong and confident, a supernatural being who never tired or gave up. But Garrus knew she was only a woman, a person just like the rest of them, but she had never looked so helpless like she was now that it even stunned him.

"Shepard, Thane is . . ." Maria silenced him with her hand, her face not bothering to lift from its downward position staring at the floor.

"Don't Garrus. I need to go speak to the Illusive Man. Just . . . Just let the crew know we need the ship ready to leave within the half hour." Shepard turned back to the conference door, not waiting for Garrus to answer her order.

* * *

"Father you should really be taking it easy. I know the doctor said it was safe for you to walk around but . . ." Kolyat watched as his father shrugged on his jacket, not listening to a word of what he was saying.

The older drell turned his head enough to give his son a silencing glare, before turning his head to the other drell in the corner, who had been nothing more than a spectator during his brief stay on the Normandy, "What are you doing here brother?"

Riue sat perfectly still in the chair facing the bed that Thane had been in for the past four days. Last night when he had awaken and demanded to know where Maria was, the only answer anyone could give was that they didn't know. Kolyat had gone on to reveal that she had been adamant about not being there when Thane awakened and she had been avoiding answering any questions from anyone. Chakwas had let him know that the Commander had not left his side since he had been knocked out and gone through his surgery and it was only when they were ready to let him wake up that she had left the ship. Thane had grown silent after that and asked no more questions, not even looking at his brother and choosing to ignore his son's questions. Thane had remained in his bed, sitting stoically against the wall behind the bed and just staring at the shaded windows of the medbay. Eventually he asked everyone to leave in a hauntingly, chilling voice, his eyes remaining on the windows as Chakwas and Riue ushered the man's protesting son out the doors.

"_Why is he not talking? And why should we leave? We need to tell him about Shepard." Kolyat had ranted once they had him outside._

"_Leave him be Kolyat. We will speak to him tomorrow when he is calm. The Commander will be fine for one night. Leave your father with his thoughts." Riue placed his hands on his nephew__'__s shoulders, pushing him towards life support where they had been told they could stay. He gave the medic a grateful nod before disappearing with Kolyat. "Now tell me what has been going on?"_

Kolyat had informed his uncle of everything, from when he himself met Shepard to when she called telling him she had knocked out his father and the doctors were working on him as they spoke. Riue was impressed by the woman's courage and determination. She had risked a lot in going against his brother's wishes. Not only their relationship, but the successes of her mission as well. It was very possible that Thane would refuse to help her with her task if he chose to leave right away, and being a man down, a very skilled man, was something that her team couldn't afford. Her team needed to be the best and a complete set, without Thane, or anyone of them, the mission would suffer. She also put her state of mind on the line, watching the one you love walk out of your life to leave you to save the galaxy on your own would destroy anyone, no matter how strong. Shepard was the Commander of the Normandy and the one who would lead her team into this mission and she, more than anyone, needed to be at full control and healthy mentally and emotionally.

Riue gave his brother an amused smile as he stood from his chair, clasping his hands behind his back much the same way Thane did. However, his posture was not as ridged as his brother's and his features were set in a mischievous look that reached his obsidian eyes. Thane wanted to roll his own dark eyes at the steel gray scaled drell, Riue was not one to act seriously and loved to wear down the very little patients Thane had for him.

"Do I need a reason to come see my favorite brother?" Riue's voice had the same vibration and rumble to it that all drell had, but the bass that most Krios men seemed to possess in their voice made the sound all the more pronounced.

"I'm your only brother Ru." Thane sighed in irritation as he clasped his gold necklace around his neck, the final piece of his attire that had been missing. Now that he was fully dressed, all he wanted was to leave the room.

"You have been gone from Kahje for ten years. How could you possibly be sure of that anymore huh?" Riue crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eye ridge at his brother with amusement that seemed to never leave his features.

Thane visibly cringed at the image of his fifty plus year old parents having a child at their age, causing his brother to give a bark of laughter at the look on his face. Thane knew that is what he had really wanted and gave the man a glare before turning to the equally amused Doctor Chakwas at her desk. It was rare to see Thane express so much emotion even after so much time on the Normandy, and yet his brother seemed to pull it from him with ease.

"Will I collapse if I leave here?" Thane questioned her, his face showing none of the irritation that he had been looking at his brother with.

"No Thane. You are honestly the picture of health now, you healed remarkably fast and the cybernetics Mordin fitted you with are taking care of the rest of the healing nicely. They should dissolve themselves from your system when their job is finished. No need to put you under the knife again anytime soon." Chakwas informed him pleasantly.

Thane gave her a small bow and with no other words or gesture to anyone in the medbay, he turned for the door. Before the occupants of the room could question or stop him, or even before he could fully reach the door, the green holo pad disappeared in front of him as the doors themselves opened and in stepped Garrus.

Garrus took in the sight of the green drell that had been unconscious and hooked up to medical scanners last time he had seen him. Now he looked as strong and ready as ever, fully dressed and staring at him with cold, stoic eyes.

"Can you please remove yourself from my path Garrus." Thane wasn't asking a question he was giving him an order.

"And where will you be going?" Garrus' own deep voice held a warning to it that meant Thane better have the right answer to his question.

Thane stepped up to the man he considered a friend, not intimidated in the least by the harmonic warning in his turian speech. He answered with his own warning vibration that would be lost on any species who didn't communicate in such frequencies, "Away from here."

"She's back you know." Garrus growled out, his deep set blue eyes staring down his muzzle at the shorter drell.

Thane blinked, his secondary eyelids flicking horizontally, followed by his outer lids closing and opening vertically. His body went visibly tense and Garrus could smell the uncertainty on him, the quickening of his heart pounding in his predatory ears. What was the drell going to do? Garrus knew that he loved Maria, they were mates and a bond like that couldn't be broken over some petty argument over a surgery, no matter the actions Maria had taken to undermine Thane.

The whole room seemed to be holding their breath, leaning forward, but not wanting to make any sudden movements while they waited eagerly for Thane's answer. Unfortunate for them, none came. Thane let out a grunt of irritation and shoved his way past Garrus. Where he was planning to go, none of them could be curtain.

In a last ditch attempt to reach out to the man, in hopes that he would go see Shepard, Garrus spun on his heel, calling out to him, "She did it because she loves you, you know. She loves you so much she was willing to face your anger rather than your death."

Thane stopped in his tracks, frozen where he stood as he turned his head only slightly over his shoulder. The few crew members in the mess hall, including Gardner, all had their attention on the drell in the middle of the hall as soon as he had left the medical bay. The alien's mouth was set in a firm scowl and his eyes were focused on a spot on the floor as he stood there.

Slowly, his lips parted, and his voice was deeper than ever as he spoke to Garrus, "I know." Than he was gone, in and up the elevator, the floor marker glowing level 2 let the few crew on the right side of the elevator know where he was headed.

"He is going to the CIC Garrus." Hadley called from behind the elevator, peeking behind the wall at the massive turian still in the medbay doors. The look on the snipers face didn't change from its grim expression. "That's a good thing right? He must be going to the conference room? Right?" Hadley came around the corner and looked at the silent crowd of people, everyone had unsure looks on their faces.

"We'll see." Garrus finally grumbled, the anxiety in him only building as he left to his rooms, leaving behind the equally worried crew.

* * *

"So we will take the shuttle down to Omega while we give the crew time to install the IFF. One question Commander. Why Omega?" Miranda lifted her head from her omni tool, having already sent the message of their departure and destination to the ground team. The Normandy was ready to leave when the Commander gave the order.

"It is the closest to the relay and I'm going to need the free drinks Aria owes me when we get there." Shepard was leaning against the opposite wall facing Miranda on the other side of the table. Her jaw tightly clenched and her eyes closed as she spoke.

Miranda turned sympathetic eyes on her, but was at a loss of what to say. The commander had been good to her team, to her. She had helped them through all their personal battles and now when she was caught in one of her own, none knew how to help her. The crew knew that Thane had deeply held to his beliefs on the subject of his disease and had not responded well to the news of the transplant. Maria was now afraid Thane would abandon her because she had gone behind his back and forced the transplant on him, given the circumstances, Miranda could understand both sides.

All her life her father had controlled and manipulated her. Surgically building her to be his legacy and his tool. Once she was old enough to understand what he had been doing for years, she ran, vowing no one would ever use and control her again. Shepard had forced Thane to go against everything he believed to meet her own ends. But never before had something so forced been done with so much positive and love behind it. Maria was not evil or controlling. She was not unkind or greedy. She was loving and protecting and she deserved some happiness for her sacrifices in the galaxy. Miranda knew all about her time with the Reds and the torture she had gone through on Akuze, but the woman seemed to have found some genuine happiness with the drell. Something pure and honest, and if that meant using some deceit to keep it, then Miranda couldn't find fault in Shepard's actions.

"Commander . . ." Miranda timidly called out to the woman. The slight rise of the mocha skinned Commander's brow was the only indication that she was listening, her emerald green eyes still remaining closed. "Shepard, he will stay. You have to know that. He loves you. He has to stay."

The sound of Joker's voice interrupted any comment Shepard might have given. The pilot's normally loud, sarcastic sounding voice, sounded low and Miranda could tell he was upset at having to speak at that moment, "Commander, Thane just left. He . . . He left the Normandy Shepard, his brother and Kolyat went with him."

Miranda's eyes and mouth opened in wide shock, not believing what Joker had just said. Her attention, which had lifted to the ceiling as Joker spoke, returned to the very still Commander on the other side of the room. She had not moved from her tightly wound position against the wall. Miranda didn't know what was worse, her lack of response or the alternative of her breaking down in a fit of tears.

Suddenly, her bright eyes opened, landing on Miranda as if she had been staring at her the whole time. Her arms that had been crossed over her chest came loose as she pushed off the wall. She took three even steps towards the door and stopped just short of the sensor opening them. Her head turned a fraction in Miranda's direction behind her as she spoke, her voice hollow and cold, "Apparently, he doesn't have to do anything." And with that last depressing comment she left Miranda alone. The genetically enhanced beauty let her head fall as she heard the Commander bark an order for Joker to take the ship to Omega as fast as possible down the hall. Miranda was left with the miserable realization that the only true love story she had ever seen in her life had just come to a sad end.


	40. Public Disturbance

**This story has one more chapter before I start the sequel. Not sure when that will be posted but I will try as fast as I can. **

"Look who just walked in." Anto lifted his chin in the direction of the club's entrance excitedly. Aria turned in her seat to look down at the occupants below. Walking down the fiery walk way clad in black boots, tight black jeans, matching tank top and what looked to be a drell men's leather travelers jacket was Commander Maria Shepard.

Aria turned back in her seat, a subtle smirk gracing her painted lips as her eyes glinted with intrigue. She may give off an air of indifference around the woman herself, but Commander Shepard was a curious person who Aria enjoyed her little chats with. Maria was a rare warrior and even rarer woman that Aria could appreciate as a possible ally, even as a possible friend.

"Extend and invitation to the Commander Anto." Aria waved her hand in the batarian's direction, knowing he would be all to eager to invite the woman up. He hadn't been able to keep his four eyes off her when ever she visited. Since she had threatened to scan the inside of his colon the Commander had left her mark on Aria's second in command. Which said all kinds of things about him that the threat from a woman who could actually accomplish what she had said got his blood going. Aria found the crush amusing and wondered how the Commander would receive him when he came to offer her invitation, or if she even knew the man was infatuated with her.

Anto quickly disappeared down the stairs, his red armor clanking as he moved. The light tan batarian's presence parted the crowed easily, all knowing who he was and who he worked for. His black eyes landed on the back of the woman he sought out. She was already downing a drink at the bar and calling for another. Anto couldn't help the pointy tooth smile that graced his lips as he drew closer, his eyes traveling over her curvy form. Aria had teased him mercilessly every time the human Commander visited Omega, watching as he watched her. Unlike Aria's jokes suggested, Anto wasn't aroused by the idea of having a cell scanner jammed down his throat, but he had been shocked at how forceful and fearless Shepard had been when first meeting the Queen of Omega. He wasn't the only one who felt that way of course, many of the men would turn their heads in the humans direction when she past and most of the occupants of the club as well. Aria just loved to single him out because humans weren't his normal type. Now he could feel himself actually grow warm around the collar of his armor as he approached her back, not sure if he should tap her on the shoulder or just lean over to get her attention.

Apparently he had waited too long, because the sound of her voice calling behind her over the music was clearly addressed to him, "You have a reason for staring at me like that batarian?"

A couple of the occupants at the bar snickered at her comment and the surprise written on his face. One glare and the gnashing of his teeth sent the brave few running away. With a satisfied smile at having thoroughly intimidated the people around them, Anto stepped up to the bar to Shepard's right, watching as she snapped her head back while consuming the rest of the neon green liquid in her cup. That had been her third drink since arriving in the club he noted to himself.

"You're drinking like you're on a mission Shepard." Anto's batarian gruff voice sounded over the music. He used his elbow as leverage as he leaned his upper body against the bar, trying to peer through the curtains of dark brown hair framing the woman's face.

"The mission is to forget everything that has happened today." She spoke in a chillingly calm breath. Her sentence ended with her knocking back a forth drink, a neon blue this time, her hand waving for another. The bitterness lacing her words were not lost on Anto, and the man had to wonder for a moment what had caused the fierce woman to become so upset. Even though she was probably feeling the effects of what he was positive was turian whiskey, her words had been smooth and not at all muddled by any drunken slur that he would assume a human woman her size would be feeling after drinking the strong liquor so quickly. Whatever it was that had turned her mood sour, it seemed like it would be a long while before the turian poison she was throwing down her throat would allow her to forget it. The corner of the batarian's lips quirked in a small smirk as the idea of her allowing _him _to aid her in forgetting her problems tonight popped into his already desire fogged mind.

Anto's eyes followed the line of her throat and felt his mouth go dry watching her neck extend back so far to finish off the fifth drink. Her hair had shifted off her face and the right side of her neck was exposed to him, revealing a symbol he was not familiar with. The brief glimpse of the tattoo was shortly lived as she straightened again, her thick layers of hair covering it once more. The batarian had the sudden urge to run his hands through it, wondering if it was as soft as it looked.

"So, why are you here Anto?" The man was clearly startled to hear her speak as she turned her green eyes on him. Or perhaps it was the fact she actually knew his name.

"How . . .?" Anto began, just to be cut off by the woman's short laugh. She flashed him a smirk over the rim of her sixth drink, this time she only took a short sip of the yellow liquid.

"How do I know your name?" Her perfectly curved brow arched in amusement as she sipped her drink again before setting it down on the bar. She turned in her set so she was now giving him her full attention. The feeling of her leg bumping his own had not gone unnoticed by him as he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. It didn't seem like she had meant anything by it, but Anto could pretend if he wanted. His eyes couldn't help, but peek down at the exposed tops of her breast, her mocha skin darker than any batarian woman he had met in his life. There was something very pleasant about her skin tone, he had heard one of the human men in Aria's employment refer to Shepard as exotic looking; he had to agree with the man at that moment. Despite her reputation, maybe her exotic appearance, which transcended species, contributed to her ability to gain the attention of an entire room when she walked in, she was certainly not a woman to miss.

Anto was brought back from his mussing by her voice again, the sharpness and rolling of her speech equally exceptional to his ears, "You are Aria's second in command right? You're the one I almost threw off the balcony when I first met Aria."

"I believe your exact words were, 'Do it and you'll be scanning the inside of your colon'." Anto gave her an amused grin which he was pleased to find returned to him, though he realized none of her smiles quite reached her eyes.

Shepard chuckled at the remembrance, "That was more for Aria than you. Sorry if it scared you."

"You think it would have." Anto leaned in a little closer to her, "But it actually achieved the opposite effect Shepard." He pulled away, giving her a meaningful look, but not pressing the matter any further.

He watched as her curved brow lifted curiously again, her hand reaching out for her glass on the bar. She watched him as her lips hovered over the rim of her cup, her gaze causing him to straighten self-consciously, "Batarian huh?"

She knocked back the rest of the yellow fluid before slamming the glass back down on the bar, her hand waving off the bartender who offered another drink. As she turned back to him he could finally see the slight sheen of glossiness clouding her eyes, but that seemed to be the extent of any outward effect in regards to the six drinks she had just consumed. The deadness in her florescent eyes seemed to be ebbing with each drink, though she was a long way off of completely eliminating the sadness he could see there. The want to be the one who helped her forget kept building with each second of their conversation.

Her slim arms in her leather jack crossed over her chest as she gave him an amused smile, "I can honestly say that's a first."

Anto gave out a nervous laugh, his eyes catching Grizz at the foot of Aria's lounge. The turian gave him a look that said hurry up, and then pointed with his muzzle up to Aria. His asari boss wasn't looking at him, but she must have been growing impatient wondering what was taking so long.

"Ah, Aria wanted to extend an invitation Shepard. Up to her lounge if you care to drink with her instead." Anto lifted his arm in the direction of the stairs, Shepard's head followed and her eyes traveled up to the pink glass surrounding the upper level where Aria sat.

"Why not." Shepard shrugged, passing her omini tool over her check and hopping down from the bar stool.

Anto gestured for her to walk ahead of him, appreciating the view from behind as much as he had the front. As always, many of the men, and women, around them did the same. Following the Commander with their eyes as she ascended the stairs with Aria's top lieutenant.

* * *

"Where the hell are we going?" His question was met with the same silence that had greeted his previous questions for the last thirty minutes. Kolyat didn't care, at this point he was just hoping he could irritate the man so much that he would snap and tell him something. That was a job easier said than done. Thane was walking the Citadel like a man possessed, his long strides being hard to match by his brother and son because of how quick they came. His jaw was set in a stubborn lock and his black eyes remained straight ahead of him. Not once had he stopped since leaving the Normandy, not even when the sound of its engines roaring to life could be heard at their backs, signaling Maria's immediate departure after they left; someone must have told her right away.

Kolyat narrowed his eyes at the man's back, still four steps behind him no matter how hard he tried to catch up to him properly. The blue scaled drell decided to try something that he hadn't since he was kid, something that would earn the attention of anyone within seconds, "Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad. Hey dad . . ." Kolyat's futile attempt to drive his father insane with his child like prodding earned a snort of laughter from his uncle next to him.

Kolyat shifted his matching black eyes to his uncle's, the slate colored drell was giving him a grin as he spoke, "If you think that will work, we will be here for days. I tried that when we were children. He just stared at me the whole time, his expression completely blank."

Kolyat made a sound of irritation in the back of his throat, still determined to get an answer from his father who had clearly gone mad and was leading them all around the Citadel with no sign of stopping. The youngest Krios mulled over his options and what might gain a reaction from the man. He was in a rare state of unrestraint and vulnerability at the moment, so anything could set him off with unknown repercussions. An idea sprang to mind, but he wasn't proud of it, though if it would get him answers and the chance to talk some sense into his father he would try it.

"So that's it then? You just left! Just out of curiosity did you ever really care about the Commander or _were you just doing what your body willed you_?" The last part was spoken suggestively. The expression, though meant seriously in some cases, was a popular innuendo for his people. Most used negatively in sarcasm to describe a person who had cheated or to justify a one night stand without taking responsibility for their actions. Kolyat knew it wasn't true in this case, but his father might react to the accusation.

Kolyat caught the slightest misstep in his father's otherwise powerful strides, so he continued, "Do you think she is crying right now? Heart broken because the one person she really ever loved abandoned her to her certain death?" Still no response and Kolyat's tone was starting to get scathing as his anger built. He noticed the slight cringe in his uncle's expression next to him, his face no longer showing any of the humor that he normally carried with him. The three men were on the presidium now and his father had taken all stairs to get here. _Where could the assassin be going?_

"Or maybe she is calling that turian to her room? Garrus. He is her best friend right? He would be a suitable replacement for your sorry excuse for a man." Now that was just mean, Riue thought to himself next to his nephew. He knew what Kolyat was trying to do and Thane probably did too, but the boy was really pushing it. If he wasn't careful he might actually get what he asked for, and it would probably come with a punch to the face as well. Riue prepared himself for the possibility that his brother would attack. The younger Krios brother was a military man and though assassins were known for their deadly precision, the drell solider knew his marine hand-to-hand could easily match him, for a time.

Kolyat had come to the same conclusion as his uncle concerning his verbal abuse of his father, and was prepared for the possible consequences. Everyone had been very nice about trying to persuade him that Shepard had done the right thing, that she did it because she loved him and clearly none of that had worked, so now it was time for some harsh honesty. Thane was abandoning yet another person in his life and Kolyat wasn't going to watch history repeat itself. To say the blue drell wasn't taking this abandonment of Shepard a bit personally would have been a lie, but if he could get through to Thane than it would be worth the possible beating he had coming to him.

Kolyat closed his eyes as he took a deep breath, knowing he was going to hit a nerve with this one, "What about that Kadian human?" Suddenly Thane stopped, causing his son and brother to do the same. Kolyat gave his father back a grin as he continued, "Do you think she would run back to him? Make up with him? Have the life that you are running from? Imagine, her marrying him, getting a house on Earth, having his kids. Completely forgetting the man that left her because she saved his life. Maybe she is better off with him. You just proved you never deserved her, just like you never deserved mom." That was the final straw.

Thane's hands balled into fists at his side and with a ferial growl, spun with biotic charged hands, his expression murderous as he advanced on Kolyat. However, the normally controlled assassin was being careless and sloppy and Riue easily slipped behind him, locking his arms behind his back and pining his arms while counter acting his biotics with his own.

"Calm down, you know he was trying to get a rise out of you." Riue struggled to hold his thrashing brother still. Thane looked like a vareen pulling against his leash as he growled at his son only a few feet away. The look on Kolyat's own face look like he might have meant some of his words and almost like he was spoiling for a fight with his father. If the situation wasn't so grim Riue would have laughed at the two men, so similar they were at that moment.

"Let me go Ru." Thane snarled, not caring who he hit at that point, just wanting to plant his fist into something. Preferably his son's face if he could.

"Calm down _sadoh._" Riue gave Thane a shove behind him, placing himself between Thane and his son. Their actions were starting to receive stares from the people around them, and he knew it was only a matter of time before c-sec was called.

"Let him come, he needs to get his ass kicked." Kolyat stepped up behind his uncle, staring daggers at his father.

"Yeah? And who will be the one to give it to him? Because I promise you I'll sit here and watch him tear you apart if you say one more word." Riue pushed Kolyat back with his elbow while placing a hand on Thane's chest to make sure he didn't try to jump the boy again. The assassin was starting to calm, but anger was still evident in his tightly coiled body. "You know he is right." Now Thane's angry expression was turned on him, the man's flat teeth barring at him. Before Thane could try and attack him or say anything Riue held a hand up, signaling for him to wait and let him finish, "About the abandonment brother. That is what you are doing no?" Riue gave his brother a piercing stare, daring Thane to deny or refute his rhetorical question. Thane just gave his brother a steady stare back, choosing to remain silent.

Riue continued with a more calm look as Thane himself became less hostile looking, "That woman loves you more than anyone in this galaxy and I haven't even met her yet. But for some reason you are here while she is leaving on a mission that she is most likely never coming back from." Riue's expression grew disturbed as his brow ridges knitted together as he gave his brother a serious look, "I used to joke that you were always a cold child growing up, so cold that you must be made of stone. You were so hard to rile up or show emotion. It's probably why the hanar picked you instead of me. But out of all your choices and mistakes in life Thane, I have never seen you make such a stupid one. You truly must have a heart as cold as stone to walk out on that woman."

Thane was the picture of calm as always, his expression stoic once more as he stared at his brother. It would be hard to believe that a man capable of such a level of non-expression was growling like a krogan in a brawl not one minute ago. His lips opened as if he wanted to speak, than he seemed to think better of it and instead turned on his heel and walked into the building they had stopped in front of.

"Goddess of oceans be damned! Are you serious? Where is he going now?" Kolyat hissed next to Riue, both men allowing Thane to walk away from them.

Riue stared at the building, it was a bank he noticed. He wasn't sure why Thane would be stopping here, and why he had dragged them clear across the Citadel to this specific bank. The older drell turned his head to his nephew, "I'm not sure, but we won't find out standing here." Both men quickly made their way inside, hoping to have their question answered.

* * *

"So Shepard, what really brings you to Omega? For once you're not storming my station in armor and armed to the teeth looking for someone." Aria gave the Commander her subtle amused look as she eyeballed her sitting to her left.

"Can't I just enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of Omega?" The Commander drawled, opening her hands out to gesture to the club around her.

Aria's lips lifted more noticeably into a grin as she spoke, "Looks to me you're trying to drown your sorrows with alcohol that could possibly kill you at the end of the night."

"Wouldn't be the first time I died." Shepard's voice was none caring as if death had no power over her.

"So, the rumors are true?" Aria questioned curiously, and at the same time still managed to appear like she didn't care.

"I thought Aria knew everything that came and went on Omega?" Shepard taunted lightly, sipping the glass of alcohol that she had been handed when she arrived at the lounge.

Aria gave her another shadowed smirk, but chose to say nothing. A long silence lingered between them, where Aria picked up her own glass of pink liquid and sipped at it calmly while her guest did the same. Shepard glanced over at the other two occupants of the lounge that were permitted to sit on the U-shaped couch. She remembered one of them had stood quickly during her first visit to the club, pointing a gun at her head when she had reached close enough to Aria's position. He was a turian, with dark plates and bright red markings, he spoke with a man sitting across from him, another batarian, one she hadn't seen in Aria's company before. He was an orange-tan skinned batarian with a hint of white markings at his chin. He was attractive for his species, which made her question if it was actually him or the alcohol that was finally kicking in. Then there was Anto standing at attention at the back of the lounge between the stairs. His own eyes had been flicking back and forth between staring out at the space of Afterlife and her all night. She had to smirk at the remembrance of his flirting down at the bar, it was obvious he was attracted to her and was nervous around her. She had to wonder for a moment what it would be like to bed a batarian? She had always found them a bit disturbing with their harsh, brutal culture and strange features. But Anto seemed like one of the few pleasant batarians she had encountered in her life. Before she could get any further with her wondering thoughts an image of deep black eyes and green scales popped into her head.

With a low growl Shepard threw back the rest of her drink, not wanting to remember the reason why she was here in the first place. Not wanting to feel the pain that came with those memories. Her actions caught the attention of Aria.

The asari stared at her for a moment, studying her with a calmness that was all too familiar for Shepard, than her purple eyes flooded with understanding as she spoke in a whisper only they could hear, "Someone broke your heart. That's why you're here."

Shepard sucked in a breath, her jaw tightening as she gave Aria a steady stare. She was daring the asari to tease her for her moment of weakness, for letting a _person _break her resolve. When the judgment never came, Shepard relaxed her features, allowing for some of the hurt to seep through as she nodded mutely.

Aria hummed in response, nodding as she turned her head away from Shepard, sipping at her drink again like nothing happened. Shepard schooled her features to revert back to the uncaring mask she had been wearing since arriving at Omega. Her mind wondered over Aria's reaction, deciphering what she must have been thinking. She was sure a woman like Aria would be disgusted at what she would consider weakness, but she had reacted quite the opposite. Than it dawned on the Commander, Aria had understood.

"You loved someone once?" Shepard spoke quietly, this part of their conversation would remain between them.

Aria did not look at her, but answered just the same, "Once, years ago. Things . . . didn't work out." The asari turned her violet eyes on her, her same hardened expression never changing, but the emotion in her eyes gave her away to the Commander, "Irreconcilable differences."

Now it was the Commander's turn to humm in understanding. It was interesting to have this in common with the Queen of Omega and oddly comforting. Even the deadliest of warriors could be brought down by a single person. But Aria hadn't been brought down by it, and neither would Shepard. Yes she had lost something that would forever haunt her, but she was Commander Shepard and she had a job to do and she would do it. She was going to defeat the Collectors and bring her team back and she was going to defeat the reapers and fight to the last man to save the galaxy. But not tonight, tonight she would give herself the time to hurt and to be angry, but only tonight, than she was back to duty.

Shepard reclined back into her seat, giving Aria's profile a smirk thinking to herself that perhaps coming to Omega had been the right choice.

"Aria!" Anto's urgent voice broke the Commander's peaceful musing and quickly drew the attention of the small company of people in the lounge. The batarian's right hand was at his ear, listening to someone on the other end, his features hinted at his irritation and possible concern over the situation. "We have trouble at the entrance. Two guys are trying to beat their way in, and it sounds like they are doing a good job of it."

Aria hardly looked fazed by the news and only waved her hand, a gesture clearly meant for the turian and the other batarian to follow since they immediately stood and barreled down the stairs, heading for the Afterlife entrance.

Maria gave a small smirk before standing, placing her empty glass where she once sat and turned to Aria, "Well, you look like you have your hands full. So I'll be taking my leave." Aria and Shepard shared a respectful head nod to one another before Maria turned her back on the woman and walking steadily to the stairs. Before completely turning the corner Shepard glanced over her shoulder, her hair shifting over her eyes as she spoke, "Thanks for the drink, and the talk." Then she was gone, back in the crowd. Maria knew Aria would know what she meant and she really did mean it, her world didn't seem so empty knowing someone else, especially someone like Aria, could understand her.

Shepard found herself back at the bar, once again sipping on an alien drink. Anto's eyes were watching her from his position at the top of the stairs, barely able to see her through the pink glass of the lounge.

His gawking was cut short as he flinched at the sound of Aria's amused voice, "Oh just go over there already. She needs a good fuck. Maybe if you put a bag over your head she will let you." Aria wasn't looking at him as she spoke, instead she was focused on something on her omini tool, something she was shielding from him and the couple of bodyguards left.

Anto gave her a curious stare, the look on her face didn't match the mocking in her voice. Aria seemed almost, nostalgic as she peered at whatever was on her omini tool. But it wasn't his place to question, it was no ones place he knew, it was just how Aria was. Private and guarding.

"Thanks." Anto rumbled, before descending down the stairs once again.

He noticed that Shepard was taking her time with her drinks now, sipping slowly and leisurely as she watched the patrons of the club. Her expression was unreadable as she leaned back against the corner booth she had decided to move to, just next to the bar and entrance. Her leg was crossed over her thigh, while her arms were spread out over the top of the booth, her bright eyes glinted every time the flashing lights above washed over her, also revealing the strands of soft looking hair that fell into them as she watched. She almost looked content while she sat there, completely contrary to her previous state of mind when he had found her at the bar. Anto smiled at himself as he pushed past the crowed of people, making his way to her while believing that he could charm is way into her good graces tonight, and maybe into her bed.

Half way to the booth Anto stopped, the smile from his face turning down into a frown as he watched a random turian saunter over to her booth, his deep set green eyes appraising her form openly as he spoke. Clearly he was asking if he could join her, if the wave of his hands to the empty booth seat next to her was any indication. Anto watched as Shepard took another sip of her drink as she stared up at the turian, as if toying with the idea in her head, but not caring how long it would take to decide, or what the answer would be. Anto picked up his pace, determined to get to the table before she answered. He was hoping that she would be more inclined to spend her night with him because she knew him, rather than allow a stranger to occupy her time.

Shepard looked the turian in front of her up and down, not caring what he thought of her openly judging him. He was tall, most turians were, but he seemed to be over the six foot two inches turians considered the average height for their men. He was also covered in deep charcoal colored plating and his facial tattoos were a bright green much like her own eyes. They were intricate, sweeping from his eyes and down his mandibles and across his snout which opened up into an elongated 'x' at his crest. He was handsome she knew, but she wasn't looking for anything tonight, only trying to get away from everything. But that didn't mean she wasn't considering his offer, which she knew would lead to more than a drinking partner if she let it.

Drowning her sorrows in a warm body, is that really how she wanted to forget her pain? To forget Thane?

"I'll never forget him." Shepard whispered into her glass, not realizing that she had spoken out loud.

"Pardon me?" The turian asked her, giving her a puzzled look.

Shepard shook her head lightly and blinked back her momentary lapse of thought, "I'm sorry, I . . . I lost myself for a second."

The turian gave her a grin as he slid into the booth slowly, one knee holding his body up as one of his taloned hands griped the table and the other rested just next to her shoulder as he leaned in close, "It's no problem. We can always go somewhere else, get to talking. Somewhere quiet." His eyes flashed suggestively as his voice dipped lower, "Maybe not talk at all."

"She has other arguments pal." Anto had arrived at the table and his right hand was a fist at his side, ready to knock the turian on his ass for beating him to the punch.

Shepard lifted a brow at Anto's sudden appearance, and watched as her new turian friend backed away from her and stood slowly, giving Anto a menacing look. The green tattooed turian towered over Anto as he stalked closer to him, a growl emanating from his chest that even Maria could hear over the music.

"She didn't mention any. _Buddy._" The unnamed turian shoved Anto by the shoulder. Not enough to move him completely, but enough to get his point across.

"I'm mentioning it turian." Anto growled out, shoving back and with much more force than the turian had. It took both his hands to push the man a step backwards, but he had now made his own point across, Anto was willing to throw down for the woman.

"You son-of-a-bitch! She's mine." The turian roared, ready to charge Anto as he extended his claws.

"Actually." A deep rumbling voice barked behind the turian, gaining both the men's attentions, "She's mine."

Before the two aliens could see anything coming, two sets of scaled hands lashed out at them. The turian swung wildly at him, missing as the new comer ducked, stepping to the side as he kicked out the turian's leg with a resounding snap. As the man slammed screaming to the ground, he was silenced with an elbow to the throat that managed to knock him unconscious. Anto was quickly turned on, but before the batarian had time to do anything, a figure with long brown hair blocked his path, and the path of the traveling fist that had been coming his way.

The fist stopped, just before connecting with Anto's protector's face. Maria was breathing hard, her hands trembling at her side as she stared at the man that had nearly taken her head off with the punch that had been intended for Anto.

"What are you doing here?" She spoke quietly, not capable of producing a sound at a normal volume.

"I came for you." The man answered, lowering his fist and taking a confident step closer to her. His big dark eyes burned through hers with so much held back emotion she wasn't sure she could restrain her own.

"Why?" Shepard narrowed her eyes at him angrily, her shaking hands now balling into fists.

Before Thane could answer, the sound of movement behind her grew louder until the parted crowed revealed Aria, with two bodyguards at her side. They were pointing their guns at Thane, who was doing a great job ignoring them as his attention was solely on Shepard.

Aria. looked between the two, than at the turian at their feet and finally to Anto, who looked terribly lost. The asari gave the human Commander a smile as realization dawned one her, "So Shepard. This is who has brought you to my club. Trying to drink yourself to death."

It was only then, when Aria spoke to her that Shepard realized that the music had been shut off and every pair of eyes in the bar were staring at them.

Shepard closed her eyes at the headache she felt nudging between her eyes, she was hoping that Aria would allow her to walk out of her with Thane intact. Part of her hoped she didn't.

"Let us leave and I'll take care of him. And I'll pay for any damages he might have done on his way in here. Or medical bills." Maria spoke calmly, her eyes remaining closed as her hand rubbed at her head.

She didn't see the sheer amusement spread across Aria's face, "Go on Shepard. Get out of here. Just remember, you owe me one."

Shepard nodded and gave the women a curt nod before turning back to Thane, who had not stopped his staring or calm his demeanor. She just gave him a pointed look before moving past him. She didn't make it far before two bodies were thrown at her feet, sliding across the floor; each with pained moans. She recognized both as the turian and batarian that Aria had sent to the front, she remembered Anto had said there were two men causing trouble. She wondered briefly if the second man was Garrus or maybe even Kolyat, but instead the massive drell walking calmly towards her, sporting a smug grin greeted her and again recognition dawned on her quickly as she stared at Thane's brother Riue.

Maria gave out an exasperated sigh as she turned her head back to Aria and nodded towards the new drell that her men were now aiming at, "Him too."

"You owe me two." Aria answered with a smile, turning back to her lounge as she waved for the music to start again.

With the blaring music at her back she marched out of Afterlife, knowing the two drell were following her down the steps. Shepard rented a hotel room at one of the "nicer" areas of Omega and held the door open for the two men.

"Get in." She growled behind clenched teeth, refusing to look Thane in the face as he passed by.

"Hey nice place for a dump like this. Think they have good room service?" Riue questioned in a deep voice that sounded remarkably close to Thane's own, but missed the breathy quality of his older brother's. He seemed almost excited to be there, as if the last few days between Thane and her hadn't happened and they were just having a nice family vacation.

"What the hell is wrong with you two? Do you realize she could have killed both of you?" Maria blew up the movement she came down the stairs. The room was set up as a kitchen and living room area attached to one another with two bedrooms on either side of the open area. Maria didn't even known what she had paid for, she had only asked for the biggest room available.

"We need to speak Siha." Thane stepped forward urgently. His whole body seemed tense as he stared at her. His presence at the club had taken her breath away, when he had spoken, she had immediately known who he was and could only watch paralyzed as he took out the turian. When she realized he meant to do the same to Anto she had leaped forward, not wanting him to get himself into more trouble than he had already had, by attacking Aria's right hand man.

"Why now?" Maria could hear the hoarseness in her voice and hated herself for it.

Thane's eyes shifted self-consciously, not something most would ever think the assassin would be capable of feeling. He was always so sure of himself, so calm and in control. Today it was as if someone else had taken over his body, making him do things that he would never do.

"Please. Siha." Thane stepped closer again, the tightness in his body hadn't left yet but his defensive, aggressiveness was slipping away as his eyes softened as he pleaded with her.

"Maybe you should get down on your knees and 'beg her pardon'" The two lovers knew Riue was teasing Thane. His older brother must have relayed back the memories of Irikah at one point in time.

Maria turned her eyes on the younger drell, causing him to give her a bigger smile than he already was as he leaned back on the wall connecting to one of the bedrooms. She had never seen a picture of him or really gotten a good look of him back on the Citadel and now she was shocked at how little he looked like Thane and how similar at the same time. They shared the same dark eyes and same markings, not one was out of place or added and his neck ridges were the same brilliant red as his brother's. However, where Thane was stoic, strict and controlled, his brother had an air of wildness to him and a care free attitude that spoke volumes to his confidence and cockiness. She had heard all about it of course, and it seemed to drive Thane absolutely crazy and his brother knew it. But despite the almost naïve brashness, he was most defiantly dangerous and she didn't even have to see him throw those guards back in Afterlife like he was skipping rocks on a pond to know it. The man was massive, completely muscled and twice as wide as Thane and a few inches taller too. He was still lean and probably just as agile, but a drell the size of a Krogen was not what she was expecting when she would finally meet Thane's _younger _brother. His slate colored scales stretched across his form and glistened under the light just as Thane's did, and even in the low light of the room she could make out the slight blend and fade between green, gray and a brighter white that seemed to hug his markings and dominate his chin. He was good looking alright and she was sure he knew it. A part of her wanted to laugh and shake her head, her own brother was not much different than Riue, in size or boldness.

"I'm Riue by the way. Seems like my brother's manners haven't improved much." Riue uncrossed his arms long enough to wave at her and bow his head in respect.

"Maria. Maria Shepard." She nodded herself, softening her stern gaze to give him a small smile.

"Oh, I know who you are. Savior of the Citadel. Survivor of Akuz." Riue gave a chuckle at her furrowed brow, "What? You don't think only humans know about you do you? Your face was all over the vids when they made you the first human Specter, than a retelling of your career with a brief over view of your life before that." Something in his eyes felt like he knew there was more to that story, "But! That's not why we are here." Maria hadn't realized that his voice had dipped lower and she had been hanging on his every word as he spoke until he reverted back to a more excited and louder tone of voice. She had to take a moment to collect herself, filing that moment away as further proof that he was very dangerous and just as intense as Thane when he wanted to be.

"We are here so my very foolish brother can apologies. And so _I _can thank you for saving him, from himself." Riue had pushed off the door frame and came up to her, lifting her right hand into his own and cupping it between his two massive ones. He bowed his head over their joint hands while holding her gaze, "Thank you Shepard. Truly. Our whole family thanks you. My Arashu guide you safely through life and those close to you. May Amonkira aid you in the hunt. And may Kalahira lead you safely across the sea if the worst should come to pass."

Maria could only nod, at loss for words at the blessing he had given her. She wanted to sneak a peek at Thane to see his reaction, but chose not to look away from his brother, not wanting to seem rude or unappreciative.

"I'll give you two some privacy." Riue spoke in a soft, calming voice before releasing her hand. He gave her a deep bow, much like Thane did the first time he had left her presence on the Normandy. He retreated back into one of the rooms, but not before giving his brother a meaningful look and a head nod, which Thane retuned. Now the couple was left alone, and the awkwardness of the situation was laying heavy on both of them.

"Well he certainly isn't what I expected." Maria broke the silence. Her previous anger completely drained from her and now was replaced my sheer exhaustion and hurt. It was as if being in Thane's presence was suffocating her and tears of pain wanted to spill down her cheeks, but she refused to show weakness.

"He has always been the more _endearing_ one, when it comes to others." Thane looked like he felt much the same as her, defeated and hurt.

Maria could sense the self-consciousness in his words. She wondered if he wished he could be more like his brother.

"Your just as endearing, in your own way." Maria offered lightly. Even when she was so hurt by him she still couldn't help wanting to make him feel better.

Thane's eyes lifted from their downward position at the floor where his feet had been shuffling. Maria recognized this behavior in him only because she had seen it once, back when they had saved Kolyat from shooting Tallied. Thane had acted the same has he was now and it was making it hard not to comfort him. She knew he didn't do things on a whim or say things that did not hold merit. Every action was thought out and every word was the truth because he had no reason not to. Thane was a man of few words yes, but when he chose to use them they were nothing but the truth. So she would listen.

"Why are you here Thane?" Maria practically whispered.

His large eyes closed as she spoke his name, he didn't think it was possible to miss a voice as much has he had missed hers. Memories were nothing compared to the real thing, gave no comfort like her standing before him now could. Knowing she thought he had abandoned her had killed him and he had stormed Omega with no thought, no tact, just purpose. When he finally broke through the guards and found the turian and batarian fighting over her, he lost it. He had been surprised that he had enough restraint to only break the turians leg and knock him unconscious. When he rounded on the batarian, just to find Maria standing there to meet his fist, his heart had stopped and he called upon every ounce of his training to stop his hand from moving. Now that he had her alone, he was unsure of himself and ashamed of himself.

"Siha, I would never abandon you." Thane was now in front of her, having closed the distance between them. Still he kept his hands at his side, though the gods knew all he wanted was to bury them in her hair.

Maria didn't know if she want him to touch her or not, her body was screaming at her yes and her heart as well, but her mind was still feeling the hurt and confusion of the situation, so she stilled her own hands from reaching out to him, but took some comfort at his close proximity.

Thane's eyes fluttered as he turned his head from left to right, his mouth working open and close with no sound. As he stilled, he kept his eyes to the ground, and spoke, "I have known I would die for many years, I have tried to leave the galaxy better than I found it. You have helped me achieved more than I thought possible. We have righted many wrongs . . . I have spoken to my son." He lifted his head briefly to make eye contact.

He couldn't hold himself back now, his hand reached out tentatively, sliding slowly in her limp right hand. When she allowed him, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding, quickly drawing her hand up to his lips and kissing her knuckles. The smile that graced his lips was faint, but the look of relief when he held her hand that crossed her face brought him overwhelming joy.

With her hand against his cheek now, he continued, "I should be at peace with that but I only feel ashamed. I have worked so hard. Meditated and prayed and done good deeds. Atoned for the evils I have done. Prepared all these years. I considered my body's inevitable death and a chill settled in my gut, still causes me to feel ill . . . I am afraid, and it shames me." A single tear slid down his cheek, he didn't think it was possible to shame himself more than he had, but he was wrong.

He ignored the tear and kept speaking, his voice growing hoarse and much more gravely, "I have known I would die for many years, and after the passing of Irikah and abandoning Kolyat, I came to accept my death with ease. I welcomed it. But then you came and ruined everything." Thane gave a breathless laugh, that sounded more like a sigh and sob at the same time. Maria quickly lifted her other hand to his cheek but remained silent as he continued, "You awoken me Siha, truly and completely. I never want to leave your side. I wanted to go forward with the transplant, I wanted to save myself, but to take another's life to save my own seemed cowardly. So I refused, trying to bring my mind at peace again with the reminder that I am a dying man . . . I _was _a dying man." Thane raised his head to look down into Maria's eyes, she seemed focused and calm, no longer angry or even sad. He didn't know if he would be forgiven for what had appeared as another abandonment, but she was touching him so that had to count for something. "You saved my body as well as my soul Siha, and I thank you for that. I was angry when I first woke, but with time with my thoughts I understood why you did what you did and I know I would have done the same. When I left the ship, I knew you would think I left you, and I'm sorry for that, but I could not return without this." Thane slipped his free hand in his pocket and gripped something within but kept it hidden and instead chose to give her a steady stare instead, "I love you Siha and never want to leave your side or you mine."

With that preamble Thane revealed what was in his hand. It was a thick gold bracelet, too heavy and too large to fit her wrist. Maybe her ankle or even her arm. The cuts in the metal were very similar to those of Thane's own necklace and inside those cuts were slivers of red that glinted like the ruby of her necklace and ring. The curved dip that was in the middle of Thane's jewelry decorated the band in four sections. Maria's mouth fell open slightly as she looked down at the beautiful piece of jewelry, she had never seen or received anything like it, it's simple yet exotic look was amazing, she couldn't tear her eyes from it.

"It's beautiful Thane. What is it?" Maria breathed, looking up at Thane.

"An arm band Siha. It was my mother's, and now yours. If you will take it." Thane's eyes were fixed on her, nervous again as she stared back down at the piece of jewelry.

"Mine. No, Thane no." Maria jerked her head back up, shaking it forcibly as she returned her hands back to her side.

"Why?" Thane looked hurt by her refusal, but she couldn't take something so precious.

"It's not my place. It's not mine. I'm not . . . I'm not drell." Maria crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

"Siha, there is no other woman I want to see wear this. Only you." His voice was low and serious, "This has a special meaning Siha. I don't think you understand." Thane's lips pulled down in a small frown as he placed a tentative hand on her elbow. When she didn't pull away he slowly unfolded her arms and dragged her leather jacket off her shoulders enough to where her right arm was completely exposed to him. It gave him comfort to see her wearing the gifted piece of clothing again. Thane's eyes flickered down to hers briefly, before he lifted the bracelet to her arm and clipped the band around her lean bicep. It fit perfectly and brought a glow to her mocha skin.

Thane gave her a small smile, hoping it would cause her own to grow, "I even had your birthstone imbedded in the gold." Thane's index finger traced the swirling and crossing red in the band.

"That is ruby then?" Shepard couldn't help her smile from growing, the gift was truly beautiful. No one had ever given her anything close to it, beside her necklace and ring, but she had never even met her parents that gifted it. Despite everything that happened in the last week, this moment was wonderful. Thane really knew how to say he was sorry with jewelry.

"You said it meant something? What does it mean?" Maria questioned curiously.

Thane took a moment to still himself, taking in the moment and the realization that he had been forgiven and everything would be fine, so long as he wasn't rejected in his next request.

_Beep . . . Beep_

Shepard shook her head, having been startled at the sound of her omini tool and Thane's going off. They both held each others gaze for a moment before Thane dipped down to plant a kiss to her neck, a promise to continue their conversation after dealing with whoever was messaging both of them.

The happiness of their fight being over dissolved quickly as they both paled at the sight of the mass text that EDI had sent out to the crew, Thane included since his tool was still linked to the ship. The Normandy had been attacked and the crew taken.

"To the ship. Double time." Shepard ordered, bolting out the door and not even waiting for Thane to inform Riue.

**I wanted to finish the whole story up with this chapter but that would delay this chapter probably another few days, so I'll be finishing the story with the next chapter. **

**For those of you who have read IDGAF you know what the arm band stands for, though it was an ankle bracelet in IDGAF =)**

_**Please Review !**_


	41. Defining Moment

**Final chapter of this story. I can't believe this took as long as it did, what it turned into and how many of you stuck with me! Thank you so much and like I have been saying there is a continuation that I have already started.**

Shepard and the crew made quick work of returning to the Normandy. Upon entering the vessel that had been their home for just under a year, the crew shared collective looks of disbelief and outrage at the sight of empty chairs and halls that should have been filled with their crew members. The remnants of the horror that had swept through the ship had been relatively cleansed with EDI's help, but here and there a bloodstain or scaring of the wall where a gun blast had hit it gave hints to the nightmare the crew had gone through. Each and every one of the ground team members were thinking much along the same lines, why weren't we here? We could have saved them? Wasn't that their job here anyways? To fight and protect people from exactly what happened here? No one spoke, no one had to in order to understand what the other was feeling. Their home had been defiled and their family taken, leaving a hollow, deafening feeling of despair and a murderous thirst for revenge. None felt it more than their Commander however, and one look at the woman's face left no question to what she intended to do.

Shepard stood on the platform overlooking over the galaxy map, the crew surrounding her, watching her and waiting for the order that was obviously coming, but they all needed to hear it none the less. Maria's jaw was tense and her form ridged as she swept her eyes over them, her fluorescent eyes taking in the emptiness around all of them as well. The woman was livid, and the crew was feeding off her emotions, fueling their own rage and preparing themselves for what lay ahead.

Shepard allowed her eyes to close briefly, taking a deep breath in through her nose and exhaling, releasing her anger and focusing her mind on the task ahead. As her sharp eyes opened, she addressed the crew, "All hands prepare for battle. We are taking the fight to the Collectors and bringing our people back home. We are going to kick these sons-of-bitches straight to hell and show them just what happens when you piss us off." Maria watched as the crew reacted to her words, Jack cracking her knuckles, Garrus rolling his neck and Miranda's biotics rolling over her body.

Joker's voice coming over the com sounded just as serious as the commander's as he spoke, "ETA one hour Commander."

Shepard nodded to the crew around her, signaling they were free to go and prepare on their own. As the crew filed past, Maria turned to the two drell that stood off to her left. Riue had followed his brother Thane onto the ship with no questions of what was going on or if he should come at all. As brave and capable as Maria suspected he was, she was not going to allow him to stay on the ship while they embarked on this mission.

"Riue, EDI has the Kodiak prepped for you down in the cargo hold. You can pilot it back to Omega from here." Shepard left little room for argument if the drell had any intention to try and sway her into allowing him to stay.

Luckily it didn't seem that he had any intention to, "Thank you Commander. I'll be returning to the Citadel to stay with Kolyat. If anything is to happen on this mission . . ." The steel colored drell cleared his voice awkwardly, obviously not wanting to put into words the grim possibility that he had hinted at, "Well he will need family if you two are to cross the sea."

"Thank you brother." Thane clapped Riue on the shoulder, bring him in for a tight embrace, which was returned with enthusiasm.

"Amonkira watch over you in your hunt brother and may Kalahira guide you safely across the sea if your body shall fall." Riue recited before pulling away from his older brother.

"May Arashu watch over you and our family little brother. Live with your eyes open." Thane spoke back, a look between contentment and sorrow reflected in his obsidian eyes.

Maria continued to look on silently, curious over the last bit of Thane's goodbye. _Live with your eyes open. _After a second of contemplation it dawned on her the meaning of the saying. To live with one's eyes open equated to not living in battle sleep.

Riue gave Maria her own hug as well and bid her farewell before entering the elevator that would take him down to the Kodiak. Shepard watched the shuttle depart from the ship on the galaxy maps radar. As the red dot bleeped out of range, the Commander allowed her shoulders to slump forward as she held her body up by the railing by her terminal screen. Too much had happen in too short a time over the last few days and it all seemed to weigh on her at once.

Thane's silent steps behind her of course weren't heard and his presence was almost forgotten until he wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist. His lips pressed lightly to the back of her neck in an effort to comfort her. His pleasant scent and familiar contact was soothing, especially after thinking she would never feel it again.

"Come to our rooms with me." Thane spoke into her ear, the feel of the vibrations from his drell voice never growing old.

Without resistance Maria followed Thane to lead her up to their cabin, the door locking behind them as he guided her to the bed. Thane stopped her just before meeting the side of the bed, his strong hands pushing at the material of her leather jacket, peeling it from her body before tossing it to the couch. Maria stood there mutely, only watching him with her eyes as she allowed him to undress her. His scaled fingers would knead her tired muscles at certain points, earning a soft moan from her lips or flex of her fingers. Eventually, she was laying on the bed, her stomach pressed to the mattress wearing only her underwear; and Thane's gold arm band.

Maria's eyes opened as Thane switched to her left calf, massaging the limb expertly the same as he had done with the rest of her body. The drell had been at his silent work for just under thirty minutes and Shepard knew it was just about that time for them to get dressed for the mission. As reluctant as she was to tell him to stop, Maria needed to get up, but first, there was something she needed answered.

"Thane?" Maria called quietly to the man behind her.

She received a hum in return, his talented hands never stopping their ministration on her skin.

"What were you going to ask me down on Omega? Something about the bracelet?"

Thane's hands suddenly halted in their travel down her leg, and Maria could feel the assassin at her back go ridged. The abrupt change in demeanor startled her for some reason and she began to pull up from the bed so she could turn to her lover. However, before she could even get her chest off the mattress, Thane shifted behind her, laying his hands on either side of her head and affectively pinning her body in place.

"Siha." The touch of his cool scaled forehead on her bare skin caused her to give a soft gasp. As he had spoken his loving title for her, his lips had tickled the center of her spin, causing goosbumps to appear across her arms.

Maria could tell he was having trouble articulating what he wanted to say, the rumble of his chest was alternating between a soft purr and a more ferial growl. It amazed her how someone so human looking could make sounds like that. The turians at least looked like upward facing raptors, and even though Thane was clearly reptilian she was sure she had never heard a snake or lizard make those sounds. Despite her random inquisitiveness of the drell anatomy, she was beginning to worry that she might have put him into a position he didn't want to be in, even though he _had_ initiated it back on Omega.

Before she could let him off the hook, Thane spoke again, in a whisper that sounded chocked and breathless at the same time, "Shia, will you marry me?"

Every fiber in Maria's being froze at that moment. Their whole time together flashed before her eyes. Thane falling through the ventilation in Dantiaus Towers. Thane bowing to her in the comm room. Them speaking in life support. Watching him make his first sniper shot on her team. The fight between Jacob and him in the cargo hold. Thane kissing her. Finding Kolyat. Both of them saying I love you. Their first night together. Him killing Hock. Thane being thrown by the Shadow Broker. Kissing him before drugging him. Seeing him hooked up to the tubes and machines in the med bay. Hearing that he left the Normandy. Watching him come back for her on Omega. Her final memory was of him placing the arm band on her bicep and the look of happiness in his eyes at seeing her wear it.

"Yes." Maria heard herself whisper. She shook her head of her thoughts, all of a sudden the urge to see him, to hold him, to kiss him was all too overwhelming. She turned under him, her answer having shocked him quite well considering the fact he was doing an excellent impression of a statue, she was sure he was no longer breathing at this point.

"Yes." She repeated, placing her hands on his cheeks, snapping him back to reality as his eyes blinked rapidly.

Thane felt air rush into his lungs after holding his breath for what felt like hours. The feeling was like a kick to the chest followed by an almost crippling feeling of joy. _Yes. _She said yes, was like a mantra playing in his head. As his dark eyes peered down at her smiling face, Thane couldn't remember a time in his perfect memory that he had felt a stronger need to kiss someone.

Thane crushed his lips to hers, both so wrapped up in the other that the tears of joy sliding down both their cheeks was oblivious to them. Neither one of them was alone in the galaxy anymore, their relationship was no longer haunted by the inevitable death that had hung over them the past nine months. All they had to do is get through this last mission.

In too short a time for either of their liking, the newly engaged couple were in the elevator, fully dressed and ready to finish this mission once and for all. Shepard had been on many mission in her career, and too many to count where she wasn't sure if she was coming back or not. Regardless, she always seemed to pull through and return to duty and start the process all over again, even though soldiers, in her opinion, who were worth ten of her never got to return home. Yes, she was good at her job and she was confident in her abilities but she had never viewed herself as anything but a regular solider. Not the savior of the Citadel, not the heroic sole survivor of Akuze, or the only crew member on the first Normandy worthy enough to be brought back to life. What about Pressly, Nihlus, Ashley, her team on Akuze? Where was their resurrection? Why had she not been taken and studied instead of Sargent Tombs? Maybe he would have been here instead of her. All her life she had faced danger and near death experiences, the slightest ten second change could have resulted in a completely different life for her, or lack of life. Not once had she ever seen more than a simple solider looking back in the mirror. However, if there was ever a time to draw on any possibility she was the super savior everyone thought her to be it was now, because the man standing next to her now, kissing her for what might be the final time was worth living through this for. She wanted to marry him, wanted to put the white dress on and walk down the aisle and make her vows to always be his in front of everyone. If one more mission is what it took to accomplish that, then she would swear on her life that the crew, Thane and herself were all coming back from this to see her fantasy become a reality.

As the doors opened, Thane pulled away from her, his hand at her cheek lingering before nodding for her to take the lead. With a deep breath an a long exhale, Shepard stored the memories of the past hour away to the back of her mind and brought the importance of the mission to the forefront of her psyche, allowing her to detach herself from Maria Shepard, Thane Krios' fiancée, to Commander Maria Shepard, the Collector's worst nightmare.

As the couple made their way through the empty CIC, a feature that caused them more anger than either one was showing, they arrived at the cockpit where Joker was just pulling up to the Omega 4 Relay. The orange tendrils of lightning that fired down the relay's arms and the angry red-orange center where they were about to take the ship through was definitely eerie looking. The whole affect was both ominous and successfully intimidating. Shepard was surprised any ship had had the courage to go through it just for curiosity sake. However, Maria wouldn't be scared off by a creepy façade, her crew was behind that relay and she was bringing them home and making sure the Collectors never got the opportunity to repeat what they had done.

"Let's do this Joker." Shepard patted the head rest of her pilot, earning an 'aye Commander' in return.

From there on the ride through the relay was a living hell. Possibly the worst feeling in the galaxy was being stuck in a metal box, being hurled around with no way to effectively grip anything, while only being able to watch as one man and his computer steered them to safely in hopes that they weren't shot to pieces and sucked out into space.

"Shepard I can use some help down here with keeping this gun from overloading!" Garrus' frantic voice called from over the comm.

"I thought Mordin's upgrades were taken care of!?" Shepard yelled back, keeping herself from falling head first into Joker's chair.

"Donnelly and Gaby complained about the power draw throwing off their calculations so I had to make some adjustments. Unfortunately that means none of them were finished when the Collectors so rudely took our crew!" Garrus growled into his mic, the blasts coming from the gun making it hard to hear him, but the Commander got the gist.

"Thane get down . . . ?" Shepard looked back to her fiancée, only to see him halfway down the walkway, running for the elevator.

"I'm on it." She heard him shout, before disappearing.

"Let's hope the rest of the ship fairs better." Miranda commented beside her.

"I'm glad I put the shielding and the plating on the ship early on during the mission." Maria grumbled as she continued to hold herself into place and trust in Joker's piloting skills.

Two cargo hold battles, one near death experience for Thane, who had almost been crushed in the crew deck by a falling piece of a bulkhead and a ship crash later, and the crew was assembled in the conference room, awaiting their final orders before storming the base. Maria stood at attention at the head of the table, a holo mapping of the Collector base floating before the crew. It had been decided that the whole team would have to be split up into two strike forces. The larger group being led by someone else while Shepard and a smaller team would aid a sol operator who would traverse the ventilation shaft in order to open the door that would unite their two groups once more. The only problem now was selecting a member to take on the job. As Jacob pointed out, the task was practically a suicide mission in itself and as Miranda reminded her, they would need a skilled tech expert to pull it off. The volunteers started after that. Some who stepped forward were simply out of the question, like Jacob, Thane and Garrus. As skilled as they all were, this was way over their heads. Mordin was moderately more qualified, but in the end there were only two options in her mind best suited for this. The only question, which one would she send?

"Legion. You're up. You can hack any tech out there." Maria called to the geth at the end of the table. She knew her words were true and she wouldn't give the job to someone she knew wouldn't make it out of there alive. But this was also an opportunity to demonstrate just how much she trusted Legion, because even this far into the mission, she knew some of the crew still had doubts about the geth's loyalty. After this was all said and done, there would be no room for suspicion.

"Acknowledged." Legion nodded his flashlight of a head to her.

"I'll lead the second fire team down the other path Commander. Will meet up in the middle after the doors have been opened." Miranda proclaimed, stepping up to her right.

Immediately, the protests started to circulate. Granted it was started by Jack, the least likely person to get along with Miranda, but nods of agreement and looks of disappointment followed Jack's outburst.

"No one wants to take orders from you princess." Jack narrowed her eyes at the Cerberus operative behind her shaded glasses.

Shepard gave an exhale of annoyance at the situation. She hoped everyone was past this kind of mistrust or petty dislike but apparently sitting on the front steps of hell was a perfect time to bring out the school yard bickering.

"This isn't a popularity contest." Miranda bit back, sending a glare Jack's way, but turned back to Shepard as she spoke again, "Shepard you need someone who knows how to command through experience." Her last part sounded more like a plea for her to be picked. She wasn't sure if it was born from a need to prove herself, to be in control, have faith in her or a combination of the three.

No volunteers stepped forward for this. Everyone's waiting eyes were on her. Most really didn't seem happy with the idea of Miranda taking lead, but Shepard knew all of them would acquiesce to her orders no matter who she decided on. This choice merited a fair bit more consideration than who would go into the shaft.

Tali had lead a team back on Heastrom and Freedoms Progress but she couldn't see her handling a leadership role like this; or wanting to for that matter. Grunt was too head strong and Miranda was right, she need someone with experience. He may have the potential one day but not the experience now. Jack was much the same as Grunt, too headstrong and no experience leading a group. Mordin had worked STG but this was not a stealth operation and they would need more than tact to survive this. Zaeed had lead the Blue Suns all those years, he kept his cool and worked well with the team. He would make a viable choice. Jacob? No. Samara? No. Thane? No. Kasumi? No. Garrus? Yeah, Garrus would be a phenomenal leader. Not only experienced but he had worked with her for years now, he knew exactly how she would run her team and what calls she would make, plus the crew held more loyalty towards him than Miranda. Garrus would lead the team as closely as she would lead her own out of any of her choices. However, Miranda was capable, she knew it. Regardless of how the crew felt about her personally, Miranda was an exceptional solider and a competent leader. Unlike the rest of the crew, Maria had gotten to know Miranda on a level that no one else had the opportunity to, she could be trusted, she knew, but could she be sure the rest of the crew would see that, and could she risk it now?

"Miranda, you'll be leading the second team." Maria gave her a nod and flicked her eyes over the rest of the squad, giving them a look that said the discussion was over and her choice was final.

Miranda looked stunned for a moment before quickly hidding it and giving her a grateful smile, "I won't let you down Commander."

Maria nodded to her, then turned her attention on the whole room. It was strange, the feeling she got right before a big fight like this. No matter how many times she did it it was always the same. A disembodied feeling of looking over all of them, replaying the memories of her time with everyone and her own life. It never secede to amaze her the turn her life took the day she joined the Alliance and the person she became was unrecognizable from the person she once was. All the people surrounding her and all the friendships she had made would never had happened without that first step. And all of it, all the time, blood, sweat, tears, fights, laughs, smiles, healing, love . . . all of it could be taken away as soon as she stepped through those doors. She was leading not only a team of warriors to their possible death, but her family, and that was the realization that always gave her this feeling. This numb, time stopping feeling where she took everything and everyone in and was presented with what she was putting on the line.

"When I was young, I only lived for myself." Maria began, knowing she had to say something to them before they left the ship, something they could carry with them through the battle and push them through until the end. Her opening received curious looks, all very interested in hearing what she had to say. Shepard continued, "My file is open to the public yeah, but all of it, every mistake in my life every sin I committed all those years. No one can comprehend." Maria shook her head, finding it hard to look at them with memories like those flashing in her mind, but she pressed on, "There's no conceivable reason I should be here. I can think of a hundred people off the top of my head who deserve to be here more than me. But they're not, I am." Shepard swept her eyes over the crew, some looked like they wanted to protest, but they kept silent, waiting for her to speak. "When I joined the Alliance, it lead to so much more than I could have ever imagined and who would have ever guessed that the street thug from Mexico, would be standing here on the other side of the Omega- 4 Relay ready to lead the galaxies best damn crew on the mission that will save everyone who doesn't even believe a threat is coming." She could feel her jaw tense, her eyes burn but she kept her cool reserve in front of them, even though her words were beginning to chock even her. Those whose eyes she could see she could tell were affected by what she was saying, internalizing and reflecting it back on to themselves.

"We are more than what we started as. More than a legacy." Maria nodded to Miranda, whose eyes took on a more vulnerable look, which changed to a grateful one. Shepard's head turned to Jack, whose lips pressed tighter as her jaw tensed, "Or a phyco." That earned light laughter from the room, and even Jack gave a snort of amusement. "Or a science project." She lifted a brow to Grunt, who turned his eyes to the floor, "Or a vigilante." Garrus nodded to her in understanding. "A thief." Kasumi blushed under her hood. "Or an assassin." Maria's eyes rested on Thane at the end, who held her gaze with a blank stare, but Maris could see the emotion rolling in his dark eyes plain as day. He too offered her a simple nod which she returned.

"Or a thug. " Maria pushed off the table, which she had been leaning on and pointed to herself, "It's not the past that defines us or even how everyone outside this room views us. What defines us are our actions now, today. It doesn't matter where you have been or what you have done, after you step out those doors, it changes forever." Maria could see how appealing that was for most of them. A clean slate, no labels, no judgment. This was who they were.

"When I look at you all. When I think back to other missions, I think that maybe I'm here, and not those other hundred people, because I can see you all in a way no one else can." Maria gave them all a small smile, "I don't see you as a label, or damaged or even a solider. I see you as my family. And if your family isn't worth fighting for, worth coming back for, than I don't know what is."

Maira lether final speach linger between them, hoping they all realized how much they meant to her, how much they meant to each other and that they were so much more than a summary in a dossier. This was thier defining moment and today they were all heros, and she was going to make sure the galaxy knew it when this was all said an done.

**That's it, it's over and done. I decided not to write the battle because I couldn't make it sound right and it just sounded like I was taking it straight from the game. But I hope you enjoyed the story and will go on to read the continuation. The second part of this will pick up right where this ended and im going to hit the ground running with it! Thank you all!**


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